Broc et verre 1959

Pablo Picasso made this painting, Broc et verre, with oil on canvas. I love the black outlines that he uses here, defining the forms like a child’s drawing, and the almost clumsy application of the pigment. The composition feels as if it has been arrived at through a process of shifting, trial, error, and intuition. I can imagine Picasso working on this, maybe in one sitting, pushing the paint around, wiping it off, and then putting it back on again. Look at that bright red line looping and swirling over the forms. It is as if he has been thinking in colour, letting it guide him, and creating a dialogue between the colours and the shapes. Painters are always in conversation with one another, taking cues, borrowing ideas, and riffing on what has come before. We are all magpies, picking up shiny bits and pieces that we find interesting. Painting is an embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple readings and meaning over fixed or definitive interpretations.