Couple walking 1901

Here's a scene, probably from the turn of the century, rendered by Picasso with watercolor and ink on paper. What strikes me is the yellow background of loose brushstrokes—it feels kind of feverish. I wonder what Picasso was thinking as he made this. Maybe he was trying to quickly capture the feeling of the time: new money and excitement in Paris. It’s a sketch, but it also feels finished, like he’s caught something essential about the experience of seeing this couple. The painting's surface shows quick flicks of the wrist and the hand that holds the pen. These gestures, as much as the people depicted, are the subject of the picture. In my mind, this relates to Manet, and Toulouse Lautrec. Ultimately, it’s about exchange—between artists, but also between the artist and the world. Like most paintings, there is more than one way of seeing it.