A Bunch of Bull

Lithographs by Pablo Picasso

Faithful readers know that I am always striving for simplification in my paintings--elimination of unnecessary detail in order to portray the real gist of the subject. I also call it "leaving something to the imagination".  I have recently been studying a fine example of simplification from the great Pablo Picasso. He made a series of lithographs of bulls, starting 

with a classically drawn bull, and eliminating more and more detail in each subsequent lithograph, until ultimately he arrived at a very simple, very strong image. 

Fascinating. It's a revelation to watch Picasso work from the first image (immediately above), to the last images (immediately below). And to lose nothing in the process. In fact, one might say that Picasso's work gained in strength and immediacy as it was simplified. It seems to be a reduction of the bull to its essence. Call it abstraction, call it distillation, or call it simplification--there are lessons here for all of us!