Francis Picabia 1915

This photograph of Francis Picabia was taken by Alfred Stieglitz. You can see the way the artist is posing in front of one of his own large abstract paintings. Looking at this, I think of Picabia in his studio, a crucible of ideas where the canvas is not just a surface, but a battleground for the new. The painting behind him is all sweeping arcs and bold shapes— a cacophony of color and form that seems to vibrate with energy. You can almost imagine him stepping back, squinting, and then lunging forward to add a stroke of bright color or a dark, decisive line. This photograph makes me feel like Picabia’s paintings are maps of his mind, each mark a thought or a feeling made visible. And they're in conversation, of course, with other artists, echoing the futurists' love of speed, movement, and dynamism. Painting becomes this embodied expression, that invites us to think about what it feels like to be alive.