Musical instruments 1912

This painting of musical instruments was made by Pablo Picasso, but the date is not known, and what strikes me first is the way the simple color palette serves as a kind of blueprint for all the shapes, which are all just facets of light and shadow. It's like, what is a guitar, really? Picasso isn't trying to tell us, but he's showing us how to see. The texture here is really flat and matte, like he's just trying to lay out the pieces of a puzzle. Look at the little curlicue detail at the top right, it's like a flourish, a moment of pure joy in the midst of all this angularity. It makes me think of the way Braque also took apart objects and put them back together in unexpected ways. Ultimately, Picasso reminds us that art isn't about answers, it's about embracing the beautiful, messy process of seeing.