Woman with hat 1943

This is Pablo Picasso’s 'Woman with Hat,' made with ink on paper. It feels like a quick sketch, yet it’s incredibly powerful. Look at how the ink swishes and swirls, defining the form of her face and the extravagant plumage of her hat. You can almost see Picasso’s hand moving, deciding where to add shadow and depth, capturing a likeness but also something more—a feeling, an energy. You can imagine Picasso really trying to work out what was in his head, to get it down on the page. It’s not just about what she looks like, but how he sees her. It’s like he is in conversation with the work as it emerges, wiping and reworking areas, adding more detail on one side of her face than the other. Think of the bravura of painters like Manet and Goya, how they conjured the presence of a figure using just a few strokes. Picasso knew that history, of course, and he’s in dialogue with them, pushing the limits of what ink on paper can do.