The Surprised Bathers (Les baigneuses surprises) 1933

Picasso made this etching, *The Surprised Bathers*, with a flurry of lines that capture a moment of voyeuristic discovery. Look how the bodies of the women are not fully described but instead, implied through a web of marks, almost like musical notation on a page. I find myself drawn to the lower left corner, near the pillar-like structure, where those peering eyes emerge from the background. There’s a sense of playful, almost mischievous energy in these peeping figures, offering another layer of interpretation to the scene. I can almost feel Picasso's hand moving quickly, exploring the form and volume of his figures through the sheer physicality of the mark-making. Picasso's practice has some similarities to that of Philip Guston, who likewise embraced the power of raw, expressive mark-making, demonstrating that art doesn't always have to be pretty; it can be challenging, uncomfortable, and deeply human.