Standing female nude 1908

Picasso made this standing nude using oil paint, and you can see how he’s built up the image through layers of brushstrokes. It’s not about smooth blending, it’s all about the process. I love the physicality of this piece. It's like Picasso is wrestling with the figure, trying to pin it down. The paint is pretty thick here, especially around the torso, and he’s used these bold strokes to define the form. Take a look at the leg that's bent, how the paint almost buckles under the pressure of the curve. It’s a dynamic mark, full of energy. I think this is so reminiscent of Matisse, who was doing his own Fauvist thing at the time. You can almost feel them having a conversation, bouncing ideas off each other. And isn't that what art is all about? A constant back and forth, a play of ideas, never settling on one fixed meaning.