Man with pipe 1968

Picasso made this painting, Man with Pipe, with oil on canvas. Look at that blue face, that smoke curling upwards, it is all so gestural and impulsive. The paint handling is really something, right? The surface has a kind of rough and ready feel, especially in the body, with these bold, dark stripes. This isn’t about smooth blending; it's about the physicality of paint, each stroke sitting next to the other. Take a look at how he renders the hands, or rather the gesture of hands, with these almost shell-like forms nestled together. You get a sense of volume, of mass, but it's all suggested through these quick, loaded strokes. I'm reminded of Cezanne, who was a big influence on Picasso. Both had this way of breaking down forms into planes, abstracting from reality. And just like with Cezanne, the longer you look, the more this pipe smoker almost comes alive.