Two nudes and a cat 1903

This small drawing, Two Nudes and a Cat, is by Picasso, but when it was made I don’t know... The ochre paper is stained and worn, and the figures are built up from thin, wiry lines of charcoal and crayon, a loose web of tones and shades. I can imagine Picasso bent over this small scene, quickly building up the forms, trying to nail the weight of the bodies on top of one another and capturing the sly, indifferent gaze of the cat perched on the pillow. The cat knows more than it’s letting on. That dark lozenge shape between the two nudes—is that pubic hair? It’s rendered with such graphic energy. Maybe Picasso was just trying to capture the dark and mysterious heart of things—the inky unknown place where everything begins. What do you think? I think all artists, past and present, are in an ongoing conversation, inspiring and challenging each other's creativity. When we look at a drawing like this, we are participating in this conversation, bringing our own experiences and interpretations to the work.