Seated woman 1908

Picasso painted this "Seated Woman," with oil on canvas; it's now at the Hermitage in Russia. Look at the way he's sliced up the figure into geometric shapes, like he's building her out of cardboard boxes. The color palette is a warm, earthy mix of browns, oranges, and yellows. He wasn't trying to copy what he saw, but instead capture an emotional truth. You know, how we're all made up of different angles and perspectives. Check out the lines around her legs. See how they define her shape, but also feel kind of arbitrary? Picasso's letting us in on the secret of painting: it's not about perfect representation, it's about invention. It makes me think of Cezanne, but also of Leger, or maybe even Guston later on. It's like art is one big conversation, and Picasso is just adding his voice to the mix.