Jacqueline with flowers 1954

This is Pablo Picasso's 'Jacqueline with flowers' at the Musée Picasso in Paris, and I can only imagine what it must have been like to be Picasso trying to piece together a portrait of someone you love. You see these flat planes of blues and reds, and the geometric shapes which make up her face and body? Picasso is playing with perspective, trying to capture every angle, every nuance of Jacqueline's beauty all at once. I love the way her long neck stretches upwards, almost like a vase holding the bouquet of her face. And those flowers! They seem to echo the softness of her gaze, a gentle contrast to the sharp angles that define her form. It’s as if he's not just painting what he sees but also what he feels. I think a lot about what it means to be an artist and live in that liminal space, in between the painting and the person. I think Picasso must have really loved her.