Female Head 1902

This is "Female Head," by Pablo Picasso, painted at an unknown date with oil on canvas. Look how Picasso lays down these dreamy, almost translucent blues and greens, building up the form like layers of a memory. You can almost feel him figuring it out as he goes, a process of discovery right there on the canvas. There's a real physicality to the paint, not super thick, but present, like a skin. The thin veil of blue around her left eye especially, a translucent trace of an emotion. It reminds me of the work of Paula Modersohn-Becker, not just in its palette but the raw, direct approach to the figure. Picasso is in conversation with so many artists here, isn’t he? It’s like he’s inviting us into his studio, into the messy, glorious act of making art.