Olga in a Mantilla 1917

This is Picasso's Olga in a Mantilla, painted with oils on canvas. Looking at this painting, I think of Picasso thinking about Velazquez, about Spanishness, about his wife Olga. How can you paint a person, really? How much can you know them? He paints her with a serious gaze, a gaze that seems to ask: 'Who are you?' The brushstrokes are smooth, almost invisible. The paint is thin, carefully layered, but it's not really about the paint, is it? It’s about form, about getting the likeness right, about what’s hidden and revealed. The light gives everything a soft, diffused glow, and the subtle colors create a sense of calmness. It feels like Picasso is trying to capture something essential about Olga, something beyond just her physical appearance. Painting always involves a conversation between the artist and their subject, a dance of looking and interpreting, and I think Picasso is doing something similar here. It's like he's trying to understand her, and maybe even himself, through the act of painting.