Seated woman with blue and red hat 1939

This is a painting of a seated woman with a blue and red hat, created by Pablo Picasso. The painting is a playground of angular forms and playful color combinations. Picasso is not interested in making a perfect likeness. Instead, he seems more interested in the process of putting paint to canvas, with visible brushstrokes and a slightly rough texture. Look at the woman’s face, which is made up of geometric shapes and planes. The green and blue hues give her an otherworldly, almost alien appearance. And yet, there’s something undeniably human about her expression. The brushstrokes are so apparent that the painting feels like a conversation between the artist and the canvas, each mark a response to the previous one. Picasso’s work reminds me of Matisse, in their shared love for bold color and simplified forms. But where Matisse is more decorative and sensual, Picasso is more intellectual and restless. His work invites us to question our assumptions about seeing and representation.