In a remarkable inversion of technical effects, here Picasso used sharply outlined passages of paint and varnish and a variety of matte, shiny, smooth, and rough surfaces to evoke glued papers and the contrast of finishes typically associated with papier collé. This rendering of Picasso's favored subjects—a prominently positioned guitar and a glass-and-bottle still life—combines schematic charcoal drawing with lines in relief, such as those dug into the central patch of white paint. The diamond-patterned bottle at right, that of the licorice-flavored Catalan liqueur Anis del Mono, is executed with illusionistic shading and modeling and given real dimension and texture through the addition of grit to the paint. Picasso's simultaneous and interrelated work in relief construction, collage, and painting fueled this hybrid style of mischievous substitutions and unexpected combinations.
