Bullfight scene 1901

This painting, “Bullfight scene,” was made by Pablo Picasso, we don’t know exactly when, and with paint on canvas. Look at the colours. The vivid reds and ochres feel so charged, don’t they? I’m drawn to the lower left corner, where the fallen horse lies in a heap. It’s a jumble of white and grey, almost abstract. The brushstrokes are so gestural; you can practically feel the energy of Picasso’s hand as he laid down the paint. The texture here is built up, thick and opaque, and this physicality brings a visceral sense of the tragic scene. I think of Goya's bullfight paintings, but Picasso brings a modern sensibility, embracing ambiguity. Here, the fixed meaning dissolves into pure expression.