Original Vintage Pablo Picasso Print “The Reservoir, Horta de Ebro” Copy

It is a classic work of art in the evolution of Picasso’s cubist technique, replicating the landscape through geometric forms that interact with one another and are seen from many planes and multiple angles.

Picasso uses ambiguity in his use of shapes, motion, and perspectives to show a Spanish environment. He contrasts the curved reservoir below with the typical stucco architecture in the backdrop, which is expanding in height.

The lowest portion of the painting’s only softened round edge creates contrast with the volume above. The time when Picasso painted The Reservoir is regarded as a very productive period in the evolution of his analytical Cubist technique.

The disruption of the typically romanticized representation of rural landscapes in art is a defining feature of this style. In fact, viewers of The Reservoir were taken aback by the very description of “landscape,” as the spatial depth of Picasso’s geometric forms and structures is hardly perceptible.

For instance, the perspective and form of each structure in the illustration overlap. Picasso also used white, black, and a muted color palette of ochre, green, and blendings of these colors to produce the illusion of volume.