Mother and child 1953

Picasso made this ‘Mother and Child’ out of painted wood at an unknown date, and it's a playful exploration of form and color. The color here isn't about realism; it’s about feeling, about the joy of putting green next to white, or blue on top. It's like Picasso is saying, "Let's see what happens if..." The wood gives it a raw, almost childlike quality. You can see the grain, the imperfections. Look at how he's stacked those blocks to make the body. It’s like he's building a monument out of simple shapes, each mark and gesture visible and full of feeling. The polka dots and stripes scattered across the surface give it a sense of visual playfulness. This makes me think of other artists, like Louise Bourgeois, who used materials to express deep emotions in unexpected ways. Ultimately, this piece reminds us that art is a conversation, a way of seeing and feeling that keeps evolving over time.