Painter and his model 1927

Picasso made this painting of a painter and his model with oil on canvas, sometime during his long career. The painting is mostly made up of black lines, and shapes of grey, white and yellow. It's all about process, you know? How the image unfolds, one line suggesting the next, like a conversation. Look at the way he uses line to describe the figures, they’re playful and a bit goofy. The model is all curves, like a big question mark, and the painter stands upright, all angles and straight lines. The grey paint gives the work a sort of moody atmosphere, it's almost like a stage set. Then there's that pop of yellow, right around the painter, it makes the whole thing sing. Picasso's process reminds me a lot of Matisse and his drawings, though the colour palette is very different. It’s like they're both asking: what can a line do? And how can a painting be both serious and a little bit silly at the same time?