Still Life 1908

This Still Life was painted by Francis Picabia, with oil on canvas. Look at how Picabia builds his image with short dabs of color. It’s like he’s feeling his way through the painting, one touch at a time, and letting the process itself guide the way. The surface has a kind of scrubby texture, thick in some places, thinner in others, but that’s part of the charm. He uses color to build form, so everything shimmers. It’s a tactile experience, almost like touching rough velvet. Check out the edge of the table; it’s not a clean line, but a broken series of touches, of blues and yellows, so that the shape of the table seems to vibrate. I think of Van Gogh when I see this. He also had a passion for working with materials, and like Van Gogh, Picabia embraces ambiguity and multiple interpretations, challenging us to see beyond the surface and find our own meaning in his art.