The Bull 1945

Picasso made 'The Bull' as a lithograph, and you can really see the process in the final print. It's like he's showing you how he thinks. Look closely and you can see the texture in the blacks. How he's carefully and deliberately removed areas to create an abstract bull, but one that still retains its essential bull-ness. He starts with the solid form, then strips it back. It's not just about the bull, but how we see the bull, and how we reduce something to its barest form. There’s also this funny yellow stain in the lower right. It looks accidental but adds to the playfulness. It’s like he’s saying: art doesn’t have to be so serious. Look at how this mark both flattens and accentuates the spatial dynamic of the picture. You can see similar ideas in the work of Philip Guston, another artist who wasn’t afraid to mix the serious with the silly. Art should be an adventure, not a lecture.