Portrait of Petrus Manach 1901

This is Picasso's 'Portrait of Petrus Manach,' made with oil on canvas, and it feels like a real conversation between the painter and the sitter. There's a directness to the mark-making, where you can really see the brushstrokes, almost like Picasso is thinking out loud with paint. The materiality here is so present, that paint is both thick and thin, building up this real sense of depth. Look at the white of the shirt, how it's not just white, but a field of whites, grays, blues, all scumbled together. The red of the tie is this jolt of energy, contrasting so strongly with the rest of the muted palette. If you focus on Manach's hand on his hip, you can see Picasso's reworking, like he's feeling his way through the form. It reminds me of some of Philip Guston's later work, where the messiness becomes the message. Art isn't about perfection, it's about the process, the struggle, the conversation.