Sculptor with His Model and Sculpture of Her Head (Sculpteur avec son modèle et sa sculpture) 1933

This etching by Pablo Picasso is all lines, looping and turning to describe the sculptor with his model. I’m just imagining Picasso making this, his hand moving, thinking, correcting, and then the acid biting into the plate to fix those lines. I can’t help but wonder what Picasso was thinking. Was he thinking about art history? About the tradition of male artists depicting the female nude? Maybe he was thinking about how the artist sees, how looking is also about desire. There’s a playful quality to the line, like he’s improvising, working it out as he goes along. The marks aren’t labored or overworked, but light and free. This reminds me of other works by artists like Matisse, who also used simple lines to convey form and emotion. Ultimately, artists are always talking to one another, their works in an ongoing conversation.