Man with straw hat 1938

This is Picasso's "Man with Straw Hat", painted with oils probably sometime mid-century. The hat is like a halo, constructed with these vibrant blue strokes, looping round and round, like thoughts circling a head. The application is uneven and blotchy, particularly on the face, like he's building up features, not describing them, and that bright orange area, right of the hat, it sort of grounds the darkness, like we're looking at him in the night. It's a little like the late Philip Guston, who also used these odd angles and planes to create forms. Look how the fingers are just roughly blocked in, the paint thin here, but there's such a life to it all, it's not overworked, it's like a sketch, immediate and honest. Picasso is a master of the form, but he's not afraid to show us the process, like it's not about perfection, it's about feeling.