Self-Portrait 1906

This is a self-portrait made by Pablo Picasso in 1906. Picasso stands before us holding his palette, immortalized by his own hand, rendered in soft pinks, whites, and grays. I wonder what was going through his mind when he made this. He looks pretty serious here, doesn’t he? I can see the texture of the paint, how he layered it to build up the form, especially in the face and the clothes. He really wanted to show himself as an artist – literally holding the tools of his trade. Think about the history of self-portraiture, the way artists have looked at themselves, how they choose to represent themselves. Picasso, like many artists, was in conversation with those who came before him. It’s a way of working through ideas, seeing what others have done, and then pushing things forward. It’s a back-and-forth that keeps art alive.