Crouching woman 1902

This oil painting of a 'Crouching Woman’ by Pablo Picasso, is awash with blues. Imagine Picasso in his studio, wrestling with the canvas, laying down these strokes, probably with quite thick paint in places. I see the artist layering blues upon blues, creating depth and shadow, but also this overall mood. What was Picasso thinking, feeling? This monochrome palette really heightens the emotional intensity, and the way the woman is hunched over communicates despair. It's like she’s trying to disappear into herself. And that blue! It’s not just a color; it’s a whole world of melancholic feeling. You know, looking at this, I'm reminded of other artists who have used color so powerfully to convey emotion, like Rothko with his fields of color or maybe even some of Van Gogh's night scenes. It's like artists are always in conversation with each other, riffing off each other's ideas, and pushing the boundaries of what painting can do!