Pommes, verre et couteau (Apples, Glass, and Knife) 1947

This is a still life made by Pablo Picasso in 1947, likely using etching techniques. You can see the scratched lines, the way they catch the light. I like to think about the decisions an artist makes when committing an image to a plate, especially as they choose what to include or leave out. What was Picasso thinking when he was making this? Was he hungry? Thirsty? Was there a specific apple he was thinking about? I wonder what kind of glass it was. Was it for wine? Water? There’s a strange contrast between the apple, glass, and knife, all quite clearly defined, versus the ambiguous background. Look at the knife, you can almost feel the sharpness of the blade against the roundness of the apple, a dialogue of forms and tensions. It’s like a stage, a theater of the everyday, transformed through Picasso’s unique vision. And just like that, Picasso takes everyday objects and turns them into something timeless, sparking an ongoing exchange between artists, inspiring our own creativity, reminding us of the many ways of seeing and experiencing the world.