Pigeon with Gray Background (Pigeon au fond gris) 1947

This is Picasso’s ‘Pigeon with Gray Background’, it was made in 1947. It's kind of a monochromatic affair, all blacks and grays. The sweeping brushstrokes in the background set a dramatic stage. You can almost feel the pressure Picasso put into each stroke, like he's wrestling with the image, trying to pull it from the ether. I can imagine him, cigarette dangling, squinting at the paper, willing the pigeon to emerge. What was he thinking as he laid down those marks? Was it peace he was after? The pigeon itself is delicate, built from a constellation of tiny, deliberate marks. It reminds me of his earlier Cubist works, but softened, more approachable. It’s amazing how a simple gesture, the flick of a brush, can communicate so much. It’s a conversation across time. I feel like I’m in the room with him, watching him work. That's the beauty of painting, isn't it? It’s never really finished, just waiting for the next eye to land on it, the next mind to wander into its depths.