Claude et Paloma dessinant 1954

Pablo Picasso made Claude et Paloma dessinant with oil on canvas. Picasso’s style is one of painting quickly. It’s evident in the flat application of the oil paint, with brushstrokes freely visible. The canvas, too, is clearly visible. It is a rejection of traditional oil paintings with underpainting and glazes, designed to create an illusion of depth. Picasso uses the paint almost as if it were a graphic medium, like charcoal, filling in large swathes of color that almost have the quality of posters. He also favors bold outlines in black, which delineate the forms of figures and setting. But it’s important to remember the social context here. In Picasso’s time, the concept of genius was more celebrated than the labor required to produce artworks. So it's worth pondering the contrast between the painting’s apparent artlessness, and the actual effort invested in its production. Whether painting or craft, the value of the work has been determined by a hierarchy that places concept above execution. Picasso is a master of blurring that boundary.