The Aubade 1965

This painting, The Aubade, by Picasso, vibrates with blues, greens, yellows, and reds, all swirling around in a bath of light. You can imagine Picasso applying these colours as the forms emerge – the musician and the sleeping nude shift into focus. The painting hums with the morning's first sounds and sights. I imagine Picasso, brush in hand, trying to capture that in-between state of waking and dreaming. Look at the trumpet player; his form seems to be built from a single brushstroke, a quick, decisive gesture. The paint is applied with a physicality that speaks to Picasso’s own energy, his way of moving around the canvas. Picasso, like all of us, was in conversation with other artists. I see echoes of Matisse in the colour, and hints of Cubism in the abstracted forms. Each painter takes what they need and adds their own twist. It’s an ongoing exchange across time. Painting is a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, and allowing for multiple interpretations.