Bowl of Fruit and Guitar 1920

Pablo Picasso made this gouache still life of a bowl of fruit and a guitar. It’s interesting to see how Picasso reduces the world to these basic shapes: squares, circles, triangles. It’s like he’s taking things apart and putting them back together in his own way. I like how the colors aren't too fussy. They’re simple, flat, and direct. The blue is really blue, the brown is very brown. Nothing is too subtle. Look closely, and you’ll see these distinct areas of color creating a puzzle for your eye. The guitar has this brown and mustard color that is almost edible. It’s like he’s tasting the world as he paints it. It makes me think of Juan Gris, another cubist painter who also focused on the pleasure of surface. There’s nothing shy about it, the piece just hangs out and lets you figure it out. It feels like a conversation between the artist and the viewer, a game of seeing and understanding.