Dying Horse (Cheval mourant) 1931

This etching, "Dying Horse", was made by Pablo Picasso, but the date isn't known. It's all about line, and how line can describe, imply, and maybe even lie! Look at the horse itself, how it’s collapsing under the weight of these figures, both literally and perhaps emotionally. The network of etched lines creates a kind of tension. The figures are rendered with a classical simplicity, but there’s a real emotional complexity, even violence, in their interaction with the horse. It's like, who are these people? Are they comforting, or are they part of the problem? This piece reminds me a bit of Goya, you know? That same interest in the dark side of humanity, the way suffering can be both personal and totally universal. Art, at its best, holds space for these ambiguities, these questions that don’t have easy answers.