Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe 1962

This is Picasso's "Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe," and what strikes me right away is how he's not just representing a scene, he's *thinking* through paint. Look at the marks, the confident outlines, like he's daring the colors to stay within the lines but also letting them bleed a little. It’s like the whole thing is a thinking process made visible. There’s a juicy physicality to the medium here; the colors are bold and opaque. Take the yellow of the figures, for instance. It’s not just yellow, it's sunshine yellow, a joyous, almost defiant color against the dark background. And the way he lays down the paint, you can almost see the brushstrokes, each one a deliberate decision. It reminds me a little of Matisse, who also used colour so intuitively. Ultimately, it’s not about replicating reality, it’s about creating a new one. One that embraces ambiguity and welcomes multiple interpretations.