Dawn at Riera de Sant Joan 1903

Pablo Picasso made this painting, Dawn at Riera de Sant Joan, with oil on canvas and a muted palette dominated by cool blues. You can almost feel him feeling his way through the space and light. He's not just copying what he sees, but thinking about how painting can create a feeling. I love the way Picasso builds the surface with visible brushstrokes. The paint is relatively thin, allowing the texture of the canvas to peek through, especially in the lighter areas. Notice how the thick, vertical strokes of blues and greens create a sense of depth and shadow on the buildings closest to us, making them feel solid and weighty. Then there are those spots of gold and yellow at the base of the tower! They feel so out of place but are important for creating that overall sense of light. This early piece, though different from his later Cubist experiments, reveals Picasso’s ongoing conversation with artists like Cezanne. It's like he's saying, "Let's explore how we see, how we feel, and how painting can mess with both.”