Dinner time (Evocation of Horta d'Ebre) 1903

"Dinner Time (Evocation of Horta d'Ebre)" was painted by Pablo Picasso using watercolor and pencil. These are accessible materials, quick to use, and immediate; a world away from the grand tradition of oil painting. In this scene, Picasso uses the fluidity of watercolor to capture a sense of everyday life. Note how the thin washes create subtle tonal variations, hinting at the warmth of a shared meal. The visible pencil lines add structure to the composition, but also reveal the artist's process, the hand-eye coordination required. The subject matter and the medium have a connection; the artist is depicting a family gathering. This is not the life of the bourgeoisie, but rather a more modest existence, the kind of simplicity that watercolor is perfectly suited to portraying. The conscious choice of materials and their evocative qualities prompt us to consider the value we assign to labor, and to the items we consume. It blurs the lines between fine art and everyday life.