Standing female nude 1906

Picasso painted this Standing Female Nude, we don't know exactly when, but you can see him working out ideas about process right there on the canvas. The surface is built from these soft pinks and yellows, really thin washes that create this gentle warmth. I like the way the hands are clasped together, almost hiding, but they're also so present, so carefully rendered, like the most important part of the whole thing. There's a tentative, searching quality to the paint. You can sense Picasso figuring things out as he goes, the painting becoming a record of that journey. It's a lot like Morandi’s paintings, they are both so dedicated to looking, to using painting as a way to really *see*. Neither artist are afraid to show their workings! And that's what makes the work so alive, even now. It’s a reminder that art doesn't need to be slick to be powerful.