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

With oil on canvas, Picasso made 'Still life in front of a window at Saint-Raphael' while he was living in the South of France. I can almost imagine Picasso at his easel, squinting and stepping back, trying to make sense of his domestic world. The sharp angles and planes of colour create a push-pull tension. What is inside? What is outside? Is there really any difference? Is there a surface that is not also a void? It’s like he’s trying to grasp something elusive, something just beyond reach, but maybe that’s the point—the searching is the work, and the painting itself. I wonder if he felt like he was wrestling with the painting, trying to bend it to his will. And what about the guitar on the table? It’s just a whisper of a guitar, but it’s there, a reminder of the pleasure of life, the beauty of the world. The sea beyond—Picasso is in conversation with artists like Matisse, and Braque. The light, the form, it’s all part of a dance. It’s like a love letter to painting itself.