Buste de Françoise 1946

Picasso made this painting of Françoise, probably with oils, sometime in the middle of the last century. I love the way he's just laying it on thick, not trying to blend or smooth anything out. You can really feel the process in every brushstroke. Check out the blues and reds of her body against the warm yellow background. It’s almost like he’s building her out of color blocks. I’m drawn to the way he paints her hands, all these soft, fleshy blues, but the fingers are so angular and awkward. It feels like a kind of tenderness, an acceptance of the imperfect. You know, looking at the directness of Picasso's marks here, I can't help but think of Guston’s late work. They both have this amazing ability to embrace a kind of clumsy honesty. It’s like they’re saying, “Here it is, take it or leave it.”