Self-Portrait 1901

Here’s a self-portrait that Picasso made with oil on canvas, and it’s held at the Musée Picasso in Paris. Looking at this painting, I can almost feel the blue. The thing about the color blue, right, it can be so many things—cold, distant, melancholy. I can imagine Picasso standing before the mirror, brush in hand, trying to capture something not just of his likeness, but his mood. The way he builds up the paint in layers, especially around his eyes and the set of his mouth, makes me wonder what he was thinking. I think about how the painting process becomes a way to ask questions. Each brushstroke, a decision, a correction, a step towards understanding. The way the blue flattens the space but also creates depth, kinda makes me think about how we see ourselves, like, both surface and soul. Picasso is not just showing us what he looks like, but how he sees himself, maybe even how he feels. Art is a conversation. We carry forward the gestures and ideas of those who came before us, transforming them into something new. And isn't that a beautiful thing?