Public Garden 1901

This painting of a public garden, by Pablo Picasso, is a small oil on canvas. Just imagine him standing there, a young painter amidst the trees, the dappled light, the hushed tones of the park. There’s a real looseness to the brushwork. See how the figures are created through these strokes of color, the marks, the surface – like visual clues. I bet he’s thinking about the impressionists when he’s making this, and maybe even Cezanne? Look how quickly he renders the red top of the woman. It’s not overworked. It feels spontaneous, like it came from the hand in one go, loaded with feeling, intention, or meaning. Painters are always in dialogue across time, inspiring each other to go further. This little painting embodies that spirit—it captures a moment of observation and interpretation, reminding us that art is an embodied expression that embraces ambiguity, change and uncertainty.