I read recently that this “masterpiece” by Picasso of his young mistress will be auctioned by Sotheby’s later this year, and I can’t help wondering what the young lady who inspired the painting actually looked like. Mercifully, we may never know.

Because if this was indeed a representation of Pablo Picasso’s mistress, then love truly must be blind. But considering the present minimum value placed on the painting by Sotheby’s — a whopping $120,000,000 — she must have possessed charms that I just can’t see.

Although, viewing some of his other choices, maybe he didn’t do so badly after all:

Well, the harem doesn’t look all that bad by comparison . . .

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And it isn’t just Picasso’s work that baffles me. I also have to wonder what Salvador Dali actually saw when he looked at the world:

To me, his visions are the stuff of nightmares. His colors are restful, though.

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There are innumerable genres of art, and I frankly admit that I neither appreciate nor understand all of them, or what makes them “art.” For example, I feel as though even I could turn out a reasonable facsimile of a Mondrian with just a ruler, a pencil, and some poster paints:

Or just take a picture of anything on a supermarket shelf:

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No, my taste runs more to the beautiful and serene: the realist and impressionist scenes in which I would like to immerse myself.

Monet’s water lilies:

Degas’ ballerina series:

And Vincent Van Gogh, who saw the beauty in everyday flowers, despite the madness that drove him to cut off his own ear:

Sunflowers . . .

Irises . . .

Oh dear . . . and a tragic self-portrait. Not so serene.

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I love the charm of “Grandma” Moses’ happy style of so-called “naive” art:

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And then there’s the 20th Century as seen through the eyes of Norman Rockwell. Some art connoisseurs might criticize me for including his work with that of the “great masters,” but Rockwell’s world is the one in which I grew up . . . though probably idealized just a bit. Still, wouldn’t you prefer to see yourself in one of these pictures, rather than in Dali’s melting world?

So eat up. In the art world, there’s plenty for everyone.

TTFN,
Brendochka
9/28/23