Seated woman 1902

This bronze Seated Woman, a diminutive creation of just 14 x 8 cm, was crafted by Pablo Picasso. There’s an intimacy here, something almost tender in the way the woman is caught in repose. I imagine Picasso working on this piece, coaxing the form out of the yielding clay, fingers pressing and shaping, building up the figure bit by bit. There is no distinct colour palette, yet the bronze itself has subtle colourations. Look at how the lines of her body flow and merge, how the texture of the bronze seems to capture the soft give of flesh and fabric. I wonder what Picasso was thinking about as he made this piece. What did he want to reveal about the human condition? The positioning of her hands seems very delicate; so much feeling is captured in the folds of her dress. Picasso and other artists are in an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring creativity and new ways of seeing. We’re left with an impression of a woman captured in a moment of quiet contemplation, an invitation to bring our own thoughts to the figure.