This painting is known as the “Reading at a Table” and was done by Pablo Picasso in 1934. Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter who is best known for his usage of cubism and his wide range of different artistic styles.  The painting depicts a young woman sitting at a table reading by a lamp with a whole variety of colors and crude lines. After some research, I found out that woman is actually French and her name is Marie-Therese Walter. Marie-Therese Walter first met Pablo Picasso when she was seventeen and he was forty five. The two eventually had a relationship that people say it was his happiest yet least public. I believe this painting fits with the era of modernism for many reasons. For one, the “Reading at a Table” is an impressionist painting. Impressionism is when artists capture images without much detail but with bold colors. This is seen with the lamp which is just a yellow section of the painting without too much attention however it is clear by the bright color that this is a light source for the girl reading. Another way to classify this painting is saying this is an art piece of expressionism. Expressionism is an artistic style of distorting the subject for emotional effect to evoke moods or ideas. This type of modernist style is associated with Pablo Picasso often. In the “Reading at a Table,” nearly every item in the painting is distorted in some way or another. The female’s head is shaped unconventionally which is a common theme for Pablo Picasso when he painted humans. The chair and other items are also not drawn with straight lines that makes them look as they have been warped. The reason for this can be because this was the modernist style Pablo Picasso has been known for. My personal opinion regarding the distortion is that is has been done to create an environment of comfort because the lines are not perfect and that makes me feel as there is an energy of relaxation as the female reads her book. I saw this painting at The Metropolitan Museum of Art after walking into the modernism wing on the first floor and I noticed a tour group surrounding this painting. I was intrigued and saw that is was one of Pablo Picasso’s work and I am a huge fan of his so I was motivated to analyze it some more. There were other Pablo Picasso’s in this wing but the colors of “Reading at a Table” and the easiness I feel from observing it was the reason I was drawn to this piece. The only question I would have about this painting is what exactly is the female reading? She has her hand by her head which can either be a sign of relaxation or being tired so I am curious on what evoked that choice of hers.