Still life in front of a window at Saint-Raphael 1919

This is Picasso’s “Still life in front of a window at Saint-Raphael”, a small, domestic scene painted with oil on canvas. Look at how the sharp, geometric forms create a flattened, almost collage-like effect. It's like he's building the image up from shapes, each one carefully considered and placed. What grabs me is the relationship between the objects inside and the view outside. The guitar, fruit dish, and open book feel so solid, grounded in their space. But through the window, there’s this expansive, almost dreamy vista of the sea and sky. I particularly love the texture of the clouds – you can almost feel the brushstrokes moving and swirling. The way the light filters through the window, casting shadows on the balcony, it’s almost like Picasso is playing with the idea of inside versus outside, reality versus imagination. I see this as a link with Matisse’s paintings of open windows from around the same time. It's like they're both having a conversation about space, perspective, and the joy of seeing.