Nature morte. Poissons et poêle 1936

This is a painting of a still life with fish and a frying pan by Pablo Picasso. It's all about the process, you know? The way he builds up the paint, layer upon layer, it's like he's thinking through the act of painting itself. Look at the texture, the way the paint sits on the canvas. It's thick in some places, thin in others. You can almost see the strokes of his brush, the energy of his hand. And the colors! The blues and greens of the fish, the dark, heavy black of the pan, the lemon yellow. See how the blue fish at the top sits on top of the oyster shells, the rough, energetic brushstrokes suggesting scales and fins. There’s a directness, an honesty, in the way the paint is applied. It feels like he’s not trying to hide anything, not trying to create an illusion. It’s painting about painting. Reminds me of Chaim Soutine, who was also interested in painting meat, and the strange beauty of decay. Ultimately, it's a painting that embraces ambiguity, inviting us to see the world in new ways.