Untitled 1937

This Picasso still life, 41 by 33cm, presents a muted palette and a real sense of construction. I imagine Picasso approaching this canvas, maybe already layered with previous attempts, and building up a world from objects. The paint is thick and crusty, holding the weight of each decision. The dark monolith stands stark against the blue striped ground; a brutal interruption. You can almost feel the scrape of the knife. The whole scene feels like it has been excavated. And it makes me think about artists like Kurt Schwitters, or even some of the Arte Povera artists, who took the everyday world and remade it. There is something really humble and transformative about the artist's hand making these choices. Picasso is showing us how to look, how to make something from almost nothing. Ultimately, these conversations that painters have with each other, across time, inspire us to find new meaning and possibilities in the stuff around us.