Portrait of Olga 1920

Picasso made this line drawing of Olga, his wife, with ink on paper. It’s all about the line here, right? Simple, elegant, but that simplicity is deceiving. Look at how he uses just a single, unwavering line to define her profile, capturing her aristocratic features with an economy of means. It's like he’s feeling his way around her form, mapping it out with this continuous, flowing gesture. And the hair! Those flowing lines, almost like water, give it a real sense of movement and life. It reminds me a bit of Matisse in its clarity and confidence, but Picasso's line has a certain stiffness, a formality that maybe hints at the complexities of their relationship. It makes you wonder what he was thinking, what he was feeling, as he drew her. I mean, art is never just about what you see, but about how you see it, right?