The mother leading two children 1901

This is a painting made by Pablo Picasso, probably in France, using oil on canvas. Look closely, and you'll see that the way Picasso applied the paint is quite simple. It's not about making things look real, but about capturing a feeling. The loose brushstrokes give the whole scene a sense of movement, as if the mother and children are caught in a fleeting moment. See how the colors are used to create a mood? The blues and greens give a sense of somberness and perhaps even hardship. This painting comes from Picasso's early period, before he became super famous for Cubism. It shows that even early on, he was thinking about how everyday materials, like paint, could be used to talk about big social issues, like motherhood and the struggles of ordinary people. It invites us to think about the amount of work, both physical and emotional, involved in caring for a family. By focusing on these themes, Picasso challenges the idea that art has to be separate from real life.