Farmer's wife on a stepladder 1933

Picasso made this painting of a farmer’s wife with birds and a ladder, maybe while thinking about how to see the world differently. It's all in the making, right? I’m fascinated by the way he uses color here, it's almost pastel-like, with blues and yellows that create a dreamlike atmosphere. The surface looks scrubbed, as if the image has emerged from the texture of the canvas itself. Look at the way the line of the ladder cuts across the composition, it's like a structural element, but also a destabilizing force. The birds are rendered in this kind of shorthand, it’s about capturing their essence, or their movement. Picasso was always experimenting, and the way he brings together different perspectives and styles in this work reminds me a little bit of Braque, who was doing similar things around the same time. It's like they're having a conversation, pushing each other to see what painting can really do. It's up for grabs.