Crossind Seine on the upper deck 1901

Here at the Art Institute of Chicago is Picasso’s “Crossing Seine on the upper deck”, painted with oil on canvas. The surface is shimmering with watery light, all blues, grays, and greens. It's giving me immediate Impressionist vibes, you know? I wonder what it was like for the young Picasso to create this. Did he take a boat and set up his easel right there, battling the wind and waves? Or did he sketch, then work from memory later? What does the painting mean? I bet Picasso wasn't thinking about "meaning" at all! He was probably more concerned with capturing the moment, the changing light on the water, and the feel of Parisian life. This work feels like an exercise in painting, about seeing what’s possible with tone and texture. It's as if he's teaching himself how to make a world through the stuff of paint. Painting’s like a conversation, right? Picasso absorbed all this stuff from the Impressionists, then spun it off into something completely new, something only he could do.