Crucifixion 1930

This painting, Crucifixion, made by Picasso, is a riot of clashing colours, angular shapes, and distorted figures, all vying for space on a modestly sized canvas. Imagine him, probably in his studio in Paris, wrestling with the weight of this subject matter, layering the paint in a frenzy of mark-making. The surface is alive with thick impasto, each stroke a deliberate act of defiance against traditional representation. Just look at the way he renders the figures – limbs akimbo, faces contorted in anguish – it’s as if he’s trying to capture the raw emotional energy of the crucifixion, rather than depicting it literally. You know, in a way, this painting feels like Picasso grappling with art history itself, both paying homage to and subverting the great masters who came before him. And the way he uses colour – those jarring juxtapositions of red, yellow, and blue – it’s almost confrontational, challenging us to confront the darkness and chaos of the scene. Picasso probably walked past a painting by, say, El Greco, and thought ‘I can do that, but in my own way’.