Composition "Peasants" 1906

This is "Composition 'Peasants,'" a large painting by Pablo Picasso. It is hard to tell exactly when it was made, but it is definitely a Picasso. Look at how the colors feel earthy, like baked clay, but they’re also kind of weird and off-kilter. It is like Picasso is turning the idea of earthiness inside out, challenging any simple reading of the subject as ‘peasants’. The texture in "Peasants" is so important. The paint looks fairly thin, but look at the woman’s dress, the way he flicks the brush to suggest folds and the way light catches on the cloth. See the way the brown of the bull bleeds into the orange of the background – this feels so alive and intuitive, as if he's not trying to be realistic, but letting the painting become its own thing. There’s a kinship between Picasso’s expressive distortions and someone like Francis Bacon, both pushing the boundaries of figuration to reveal something unsettling about the human condition. Art is always a conversation.