Pablo Picasso’s name is known even to people who are not interested in art, whether traditional or modern. His works are recognized worldwide, and the debates surrounding numerous creations are still ongoing. This can be said of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, one of the paintings which Picasso painted during his early years. The name of this work translates to “The women of Avignon,” and it depicts five women – naked prostitutes –in a primitive and aggressive technique. The history of this painting expands beyond its reveal in 1907, both to the past, where Picasso came up with the idea and to the future, as it is still a puzzling work for many. Today, looking at Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, I cannot deny the variety of negative and positive emotions that this painting produces. It is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing paintings by Picasso, although its composition and subject are simplistic. The present essay explores the different aspects of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, including Picasso’s desire to deny the then-existing norms, his role in the development of cubism, and the colors used in the painting.
Social Context
From the first moment of looking at the painting, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon attracts one’s attention. The work is striking – it is aggressive, raw, and mysterious. The feeling of comfort often inspired by art is completely absent when observing this painting. In contrast, it awakes a sense of being too close to the subjects of the painting. The women stare at the audience, and their bodies seem to take up the entirety of the large canvas. This could have been Picasso’s intention – to create a work of art so scandalous and unthought-of that the observer could not look away. The artist painted Les Demoiselles d’Avignon relatively early in his career, in 1907 (Picasso). At that time, he was a 25-year-old man who lived in France and worked alongside other painters, sculptors, and artists (“Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”). He became interested in styles and techniques that rejected the norms of proportion, color, and expression and studied other cultures to see their view of the world deeply. One of these fascinations was primitive art and the cultures of Africa and the Iberian Peninsula – the location of present-day Portugal and Spain (“Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”). Although Picasso lived in France, he was born in Spain, and it is clear that the influence of this historical location impacted his cultural interests. The fascination with foreign and ancient cultures shows in Les Demoiselles d’Avignon – the women’s faces resemble masks more than natural expressions. Almond-shaped eyes are placed asymmetrically, their large noses are turned to the side, and their mouths are reduced to a single line. In addition, some of the faces differ in color, which will be discussed in more detail later. Exploring the culture, it can be assumed that Picasso was inspired by African masks, one of the staples of regional art.
Artistic Technique
Apart from the painting’s subject, the technique used by Picasso further amplifies the feelings of unease and confrontation. In 1907, Picasso became interested in cubism and primitivism, styles that aimed to break down the limits of proportion and norm. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is a clear example of a primitivist work, and its brashness is a statement for freedom in art. First of all, Picasso paints the silhouettes of women rather than their realistic proportions on the canvas. The bodies are angular, and the main shapes and scarce lines only indicate the poses in which the women stand or sit. Picasso uses a range of figures – some of them are circular, but the majority are sharp, including rectangles and triangles. For example, the woman in the top-right is the least realistic, and her body is composed of several differently shaped rectangles. Their faces are also extremely asymmetrical and disproportionate. The woman on the left is seen from her side, and her eye is the same shape as the one depicted from the front (Picasso). However, the two women on the right have the most simplified features. These faces have been inspired by masks, and it feels as though the women are actually wearing them. The noses, eyes, and mouths look completely artificial and differ from the three other faces on the canvas. Another feature of primitivist and cubist art is the lack of perspective and differentiation between people, objects, and backgrounds. The women appear to be surrounded by an assortment of colorful fabrics, but the latter are draped as if they are completely stiff. There are no distinct signs of perspective in the painting; the women stand in one line as if they do not occupy any three-dimensional space.
Colors
The painting also has an interesting combination of colors despite its simple premise. The central focus of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is the five naked women. Their skin color differs somewhat from one woman to another, but they are all rather pale. Picasso uses pink, beige, and light brown as the primary shades to create the women’s skin, hair, and facial features. Notably, the three women on the left have almost no shadows on their faces and only slight differences in the colors of their arms, torsos, and legs. Nevertheless, the two women placed on the right have distinctively different shades on their faces, further strengthening the idea that they are wearing masks. The sitting woman wears a brown mask with features colored bright blue, and the woman’s face at the far right is grey with green highlights. Here, the shadows of the noses are extreme and colorful. The abundance of colors is striking here, and the question of why these particular subjects have differently colored faces arises. The background of the painting is presented in three major colors – red, grey, and blue. The curtains are colored in flat angular shapes, although the blue curtain is comprised of forms that are not colored completely. It is possible that this technique was used to depict a shiny fabric while the other curtains were matte. Overall, the limited palette used for the background does not distract from women’s bodies – the main subject of the painting.
Conclusion
Picasso’s paintings are famous for being bold and using various approaches and styles to challenge the viewer and art as a whole. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon can be considered an early work of the artist, and it is his attempt at primitivism and cubism in its nascent stages. The painting is expressive and unsettling – rough, sharp shapes appear aggressive and confrontational. This mood is further enhanced by the women’s facial features and poses. Simplistic coloring and the lack of perspective are distinctive features of primitivism. At the same time, the use of triangles, rectangles, and semicircles as the main shapes to form all objects on the canvas is an example of cubism. Overall, this painting raises many questions about the limits and goals of modern art.
The Blue Period in the oeuvre of Pablo Picasso is defined as his paintings created in years 1901-1904. It is characterized by obvious domination of various forms of blue colors in paintings. Interestingly, at this point of his life he was definitely feeling blue.
The preceding year before the beginning of the Blue Period appeared to be shocking for the artist. Pablo Picasso’s best friend, Carlos Casagemas, committed a suicide. This event is considered to have led the artist to the period of melancholy and depression (Warncke, 201). Feeling frustrated and left alone, Pablo Picasso tries to express his emotions with the help of canvas and oil. He paints himself and other people with unhappy expressions; emptiness can be read on their faces.
Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period can be defined as the transition of the artist from classical to abstract painting (Getlein,28). While creating the paintings, Pablo Picasso was very young (21-25). Therefore, some drawbacks in composition can be observed at the Blue Period. However, at his time, Pablo Picasso made a real revolution in the world of art with his works. Unusual, serious and grotesque, they form a special class of pictures which introduce the age of modern art.
The Blue Period includes such works as Self portrait, Le gourmet, Blue Nude, La Celestina, Evocation, burial of Casagemas, Casagemas’ Death, Two sisters, the meeting, Life, Old Guitarist, Child with a Dove, Poor people on the seashore, Susanne Bloch, and others.
Child with a dove
“Child with a dove”, painted in 1901, is the painting which opens the Picasso’s series of the paintings of the Blue Period. Unlike the most of paintings of this period, it is very tender and mild.
A little girl holding a white dove on a playground looks very sad. The picture is still, yet the viewers expect the doe to fly away soon; that is why the subconscious dynamics is present in the work. The light blue and green pastel tones intensify the melancholic mood of the painting. However, the vivid black contours make the figures very contrastive. The brushstrokes can be seen; moreover, it is clear that preceding to the green phone Picasso used deep blue.
Interestingly, starting from this painting the author started to sign his works as simply “Picasso”, with no initials (Raynal, 81). In this painting, the influence of such artists as Gauguin and Cezanne on Picasso’s style of painting can be noticed.
The Absinthe Drinker
“The absinthe drinker”, created in 1901, is a work which depicts the culture of Paris of that time. Absinthe, at that time a cheap infusion of weeds, was very spread among the youth. A man with a bottle of absinthe was a casual picture of 19th century (Gilot, 241).
The Picasso’s character is very tragic; his posture and expression emphasize his loneliness. He is sitting with his drunken eyes staring in deep thoughts; he is hugging himself with one arm, which is a sign of emptiness, and supporting his chin with another hand. This hand is standing strictly vertical and is situated in the center of the composition, making the painting massive and rude. The palette is comparatively rich; the typical blue colors are combined with red, yet they still are cold. The texture of the painting is homogenious.
The painting is now kept in Russia, at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
Self portrait
The picture “Self portrait” was also created in 1901. Painted with oil, this work is very expressive. Pablo Picasso shows himself as a serious figure looking straight into the viewer’s eyes. He is holding his head close to his shoulders, which signals the depressed and insecure state. He is wearing black; the rest of the picture is presented in blue tones.
Despite the motionless figure, the painting looks very expressive because of contrasted colors. The red lips prove the contrast with cold colors and intensify the emotionality of the painting. The contours are highlighted with thick black lines, which make the style similar to that of Picasso (Richardson, 162). The texture is homogeneous; the brushstrokes are slightly noticeable. The work was one of the objects on a famous Spanish exhibition called “From El Grego to Picasso”.
At the moment the painting is exhibited at the Hotel Salé, currently the Musée National Picasso in Paris.
Evocation, burial of Casagemas
After Pablo Picasso’s best friend’s suicide, the artist paints a set of pictures related to his death. One of them is “Evocation, burial of Casagemas”, created in 1901. This work is quite big: its original size is 150.5 x 90.5 cm. It depicts the death of Casagemas in two dimensions: one, people mourning his death on the Earth, and the other, people greeting him in Heaven, where Casagemas arrives on a white horse.
Heaven take 2/3 of the picture and is painted with pale, cold blue and green with bright white stripes symbolizing clouds. These features signify that the artist gets closer to the cubist technique with its vivid forms and bright boundaries. The scene on Earth is painted in warm tones.
The depicted people have no faces, but their postures are extremely expressive; they all show deploration. Noticeably, the Earth part is still, while the heaven part is very dynamic. What is more, the colors used are also very dynamic. In fact, the colors are “dirty”, which gives the feeling of massiveness. This painting greatly demonstrates how good Picasso was at organizing the composition with many people in a way that looks natural.
Casagemas’ Death
One of the most striking works of Picasso’s Blue Period is “Casagemas’ Death”. As it is known, Picasso’s best friend committed a suicide in a temple (Leal, 159). This fact could serve as a reason why the central object of the painting is a bright light of a candle.
The rays of the candle enlighten the face of Casagemas. The cold colors of the dead body are contrasted with the hot light – a comparison of death and life. The still body is combined with the dynamic flame. The candle is the only vertical line on the painting, which makes it look like an axis of the picture.
The grotesque brushstrokes make the painting even more convincing. The zoomed scale makes an impression of the real presence near the object; in addition, the falling horizon adds the pessimism to the already tragic plot. The texture is grained; the artist used a thick layer of the paint.
All in all, the painting is very tragic and expressive.
The painting is now kept in France, at the Musée Picasso in Paris.
Le gourmet
The name of this picture, “Le gourmet”, is often translated as “The Greedy Child”. However, if translated from French this word actually means “gastronome”. Picasso shows a boy eating at a table. The dynamical character of the boy is supported by mosaic surrounding; however, even despite making some moves he stays motionless. In comparison with other works of the Blue Period, this work can be defined as the most aristocratic one.
In contrast to death, prostitutes and alcoholics Picasso depicts a boy with perfect hair and manners (Cowling, 319). Furthermore, the boy’s figure is shown as small with the help of surrounding objects, which are big; even the plate is too wide for the boy’s hands. This can be a sign of the character’s loneliness. The colors are pale blue, as in most of the pictures of the period; the warm stains are also present.
This picture differs from others by the technique of painting: the brushstrokes are very shallow and vivid. This technique gives an impression of a crayon-painted picture. This picture also contains more details than others; therefore, the elements of classicism are obvious.
At the moment the painting is together with some of the works of Picasso’s Blue Period in USA, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
Blue Nude
The picture “Blue Nude” was painted in 1902. It depicts a necked woman crying sitting with her back to the viewers. Her body and the background are painted identically; only the thick black lines show her shape. The author also uses pink tones in order to contrast between the body and the surrounding. In this picture Pablo Picasso tries to make the first steps to primitivism, showing the simplified shapes (Franck, 143).
The colors are not presented separately; all the tones seem to be flowing out from each other. The setting is unclear, as the painted woman has no ground under her; however, she does not look like hanging in the air: her posture is obviously fixed. All in all, despite the vivid lines, the picture looks very integral.
La Celestina
“La celestina” was painted in 1903. On the picture there is a woman with slightly grayed hair. The composition is still. She sits in a posture, traditional for Picasso’s portraits: with her body turned 30% to the West and her head turned full face to the viewer. The woman is dressed strictly: she has a black headscarf on.
However, her facial expression shows some foxy thoughts. Her eyes, one of which is blind, are staring right, her eyebrows slightly raised, and her lips mysteriously simpering. Thus, Picasso reveals the character of the woman: both the model and Celestina were procuresses (Jaffe, 82). The dark tones are presented by homogeneous style of painting. The absence of the setting emphasizes the importance and expressiveness of the character.
The painting is now kept together with the author’s self-portrait of the Blue Period, in Paris, the Musée National Picasso.
Two sisters, the meeting
The picture “Two sisters, the meeting”, created in 1902 depicts two unhappy women standing together. The painter was inspired for this work by his visit to the Paris prison of St. Lazare. The interesting detail about that prison was that it was guarded by nuns. Therefore, the women on the picture are probably nuns or a nun and a prisoner (Gilot, 328).
The both characters are still. This work shows Pablo Picasso’s cubist preferences. The work is very contrastive, the semi-shadows are often omitted, the shapes are clean-cut. Some state that the simplified shapes, especially the way of painting the faces, points to the Christian motives (Warncke, 134).
The tones vary from light blue to dark violet. The typical distinct counters are less noticeable than in other works of the period. The curl of the arch on the left repeats the form of the sisters’ heads bend to each other, and the shadow on the right continues this pattern. The barefooted women with their heads covered remind the Discalced Carmelite Nuns.
Nowadays the painting is in Russia; specifically, in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
The old guitarist
“The old guitarist”, created in 1903, is one of the “mildest” works of Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period referring to the technique. A homeless man, probably drunk, playing his guitar is shown in the picture. The simple forms are yet detailed; the muscles and tendons are clear. The typical pale blue tones are combined with a warm stain (guitar) and bright white strokes, just like in most of the described paintings.
The composition is still; only the guitarist’s hands are supposed to express dynamics, but in fact they are also relaxed. The three horizontal lines (the man’s head, hand and legs) are connected by the vertical one (the guitar).
At the moment the work is situated at the Art Institute of Chicago in USA.
Life
The painting “Life” is another work where Picasso originally situates many figures. The author depicts Casagemas with his lover, and a mother with a child near them. The picture also refers to the set of Casagemas’ portraits.
The triple dimension includes the three front characters, one person at the background and also two people painted on a picture behind the front characters. All the figures are motionless; only the couple on the left compensates the still composition. None of the characters meet with their eyes; this also adds some dynamics to the painting. The colors change from light blue on the top to brownish green on the bottom.
The bright white stains highlight the front space and serve as a frame for the background. In this picture, author uses as much contrast as it was possible. One of the most obvious is the contrast between the necked couple and a woman in the fabric.
Interestingly, the painting shows the alive friend of the author, surrounded by the closest people, which shows the deep feeling of respect that Picasso had to Casagemas.
At the moment the work is in USA, The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Poor people on the seashore
The painting “Poor people on the seashore” depicts a family of three, a mother, a father and a son. Another name for the painting is “The tragedy”. The painting refers to the period when Picasso was concentrated on the general message more than on composition. Thus, the composition is rather inconsistent: the woman is still, but the man with the boy is moving in some direction; but their route seems to include hitting the woman.
The characters are painted with violet; for the background Picasso used pure light blue colors. They express the frozen sea and the winter sky; the people with no shoes on also show that they are cold. In general, the mood of the painting is expressed very clearly. The pale stains in this painting are not only used in some elements, but also for underlying the contrast with dark tones.
All in all, despite the imperfect composition, Picasso managed to express the atmosphere excellently.
The painting is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, USA.
Suzanne Bloch
“Suzanne Bloch” is the last painting from Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period. This portrait does not differ much from the other portraits of Picasso: the typical composition, model’s posture, tones and style of painting.
A still woman looks straight into the viewers’ eyes; the dark tones of clothing and hair are contrasted with very pale skin. Warm orange lips also prove a contrast to the general cold of the painting. The texture is rather coarse, which makes the painting look messy. The portrait also has an interesting story. It was once stolen from a museum and found a year later, undamaged and safe (Leal, 287).
All in all, the Blue Period in the artistic work of Pablo Picasso is one of the most prolific ones. The feeling of resignation was one of the strongest stimuli for the artist to create his works. The Blue Period is marked by expressive melancholic paintings and a palette of cold blue colors. Because of the mournful mood, author depicts unhappy people.
None of the characters painted during the Blue Period is smiling; they all embody either poor, sad or stereotypically bad characters. In addition, the style of Picasso’s paintings becomes very recognizable; it still contains the aristocratic tones and mild transitions but at the same time has the roots of cubism. The main features of the Blue Period’s portraits are stillness, heavy dark colors, and thick black contours. Nowadays the works are kept in greatest galleries of the world and admitted to be ones of the world best works.
Works Cited
Barnet, S. A short guide to write about art 9th edition. London: Longman, 2002. Print.
Cowling, E. Picasso: Style and Meaning. Phaidon Press, 2002. Print.
Franck, D. Bohemian Paris: Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, and the Birth of Modern Art. Grove Press, 2003. Print.
Getlein, M. Living with Art 8th Edition. McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2007. Print.
Gilot, F, Lake, C. Life with Picasso. Virago,1990. Print.
Jaffe, H. Picasso (Masters of Art) New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1983. Print.
Leal, B. The Ultimate Picasso. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000. Print.
Raynal, M. Picasso: Biographical and Critical Studies. Skira,1959. Print.
Richardson, J. A Life of Picasso: The Prodigy, 1881-1906. Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.
“My mother said to me, “If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.” Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso.”
– Pablo Ruiz Picasso
When the discussion comes up about the subject of the monochromatic color schemes, I usually think of Picasso and his famous “Blue Period”, especially about “The Old Guitarist” painting.
“The Old Guitarist” painting was created in 1903, after the of Picasso’s friend Carlos Casagemas committed suicide, along with “blue” pieces such as world known “The Tragedy”. The Blue Period lasted from 1901 to 1904. We may easily define it by its melancholy mood and hues. In the “blue period” Picasso showed the life of the poor. Such painting as “The Old Guitarist” is considered as one of the most popular works of the century in the art world. The painting reveals to us a blind beggar that is dressed in tattered and torn clothes. He is sitting in a somewhat curved manner around his old guitar. The distortion of beggar’s features and his elongated limbs may seem as the reminiscent of the El Greco’s work. The prototype of the old guitarist was a blind artist whom Picasso met in Madrid.
The blind guitarist is actually not unlike Picasso known as a modern artist. Like Picasso, his subject is not accepted by those who were around him, and yet they are totally dependent upon them. While playing the guitar a blind man is searching the inspiration for his soul. The same way the modern artist does; he makes an attempts to break the certain shackles of his own classic schooling, but he has nothing to guide him at the same time. It may seem that the theme of alienation is prevalent in the most pieces of the Blue Period. But we can also deny that Picasso is also criticizing society by his somber representing of the poor.
Picasso’s art Blue Period was dominated by such features as: sadness, melancholy, and the predominant color blue. The main characters of his paintings are poor street people, some times – prostitutes and, of course, beggars. It was a hard time in Picasso’s young life, but he gave very powerful emotion to his paintings.
If we are talking about the art history as the whole, then we need to mention that Picasso made a great impact in transition process between the classic art those one of his schooling and the new art form he was going to create known as cubism or abstract art.
“The Old Guitarist” by Pablo Picasso is one of the most famous paintings of his Blue period. I would like to describe it. It is an oil painting on 122.9 x 82.6 cm panel.
The oil of this painting is relevant to what Picasso was creating during this time period. The artist used blues, blacks and grays colors in this work.
If we are talking about the technique used in this painting, then we need to say that color lineup causes a dark and in a certain way melodramatic look on this painting. It is known fact that oil itself mixes everything together, so it makes colors stand out really much pronounced than common regular mediums. While painting “The Old Guitarist”, Picasso used a monochrome palette. This actually means that the forms in this painting are flattened, they are with tragic themes.
Unlike other Picasso’s paintings, the size of “The Old Guitarist” is relatively small. Its size is less than a foot, what makes it look like a nondescript portrait. Some critics think that such issue downsizes the effect on a person that is viewing it. I think this was done not to do this, but to metaphor the old man correctly in this painting. The person, while walking by a beggar who is seating the side of the street, usually does not look at him with the interest. So does Picasso actually try to achieve such an effect by his painting’s size.
The Blue Period helped Picasso to advance as an artist, to expand his views and his painting techniques. All works, with similar forms, of the Blue Period represent the similar Picasso’s gallery.
Such paintings as “The Old Guitarist” fully describe Picasso’s life, they often reflect very tragic moments. The Blue Period years of young Picasso’s life showed his life how it truly was: poverty, struggle, wretchedness. Picasso was basically a poor wretch; that is why he was able to understand the pain and struggle of those who were underneath the “normal” society.
Another factor that led to the Blue Period, and to “The Old Guitarist”, was that, as well as other young artist’s, Picasso was trying to follow in the Toulouse-Lautrec’s footsteps.
So we can say that his surroundings affected his work greatly. They were implemented into his paintings, influencing their current form and creating their content. The content of “The Old Guitarist” is very interesting. The symbolist movement appeared when Picasso was just beginning the Blue Period. “The Old Guitarist” actually represents that movement. We can prove this because of its certain association with the beggar’s blind eyes, but we should not forget about certain “inner vision”.
Lael Wartenbaker said about Picasso’s painting that: “Such wretched creatures, many of them so blind, all of them alienated from society, became the principals of Picasso’s Blue period paintings. The use of monochrome served to dissociate these figures from time and place; it also served to emphasize that the joys of shifting light and varied color had no place in their bleak milieu. In all the works of the Blue Period, Picasso’s intent is perhaps most clearly set forth in The Old Guitarist, a study of a mystical El Greco-like figure sitting cross-legged. There’s little sign of life about the man; his shoulders are bony and his pose is cramped, as if to suggest that he finds no ease in the world around him”.
I think that “The Old Guitarist” lives a strong impression in those people hearts that have seen it at least once. After viewing it Wallace Stevens wrote the poem on its honor – “The Man With the Blue Guitar”. The blueness in this poem becomes an image of the certain creational power of art. He expressed these in the opening lines of the poem:
The man bent over his guitar,
A shearsman of sorts. The day was green.
They said, “You have a blue guitar,
You do not play things as they are.”
The man replied, “Things as they are
Are changed upon the blue guitar.”
And they said then, “But play, you must,
A tune beyond us, yet ourselves,
A tune upon the blue guitar
Of things exactly as they are.”
References
Boeck, W., & Sabartés, J. (1955). Picasso. New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Domenico, K., Goldberg, S., Manheim, J., Mcenroe, J. C., Pokinski, D., & Watson, S. (2001). Artists, Writers, and Musicians : An Encyclopedia of People Who Changed the World / (M. Bossy, T. Brothers, & J. C. Mcenroe, Ed.). Westport, CT: Oryx Press.
Eglinton, K. A. (2003). Art in the Early Years. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Everdell, W. R. (1998). The First Moderns: Profiles in the Origins of Twentieth-Century Thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hargrove, N. D. (1998). The Great Parade: Cocteau, Picasso, Satie, Massine, Diaghilev – and T.S. Eliot. Mosaic (Winnipeg), 31(1), 83+.
Pablo Picasso’s Guernica is one of the painter’s most significant and famous works. It is also one of the most recognizable paintings of the twentieth century. Some people praise this painting above all, while others simply do not comprehend its hidden symbolical meaning. In order to understand the message of Guernica, it is necessary to know the historical context in which Pablo Picasso created his masterpiece. Picasso himself made his motives clear: “In the panel on which I am working which I shall call Guernica, and in all my recent works of art, I clearly express my abhorrence of the military caste which has sunk Spain into an ocean of pain and death” (qtd. in Winter 83). Judging from this quote, it is safe to conclude that Picasso’s Guernica is a powerful anti-war statement.
In 1937, the Government of the Spanish Republic commissioned Picasso to create a painting for the exhibition in Paris. However, the tragic event that took place a month before was the true reason behind the creation of Guernica. In 1937, Spain was torn by the Civil War.
The Republicans fought against the Nationalists, whose leader was General Franco. With Franco’s permission, German air forces bombed Guernica, a small town in Basque Country. As a result of the fierce bombing, around 1600 people died, and the city was destroyed almost completely. These tragic events shocked the entire world, including Pablo Picasso. He worked 10 hours a day, and after less than a month, the 11 feet tall and 25.6 feet wide mural-sized painting was presented to the public.
Despite the fact that the bombing of the town was Picasso’s major motive for creation Guernica, in the painting, there are no scenes of bombing, no explosions, and no direct images of the ravages of war. The genius of Pablo Picasso enabled him to show the horrific events from the inner perspective of those who suffered from it – the victims of the deadly raid. Guernica is painted in black, white, and grey palette, which clearly represents the manifestation of the evil of the war, its lifeless nature, and its victims.
The painting is full of violence, agony, and pain. It emanates the tragic feeling of the closeness of death. The faces of a man and a woman, which are turned to the viewer, look like a grotesque mask: their mouths are wide open in screaming, their eyes located above the foreheads, and nostrils are flared. On the right side of the painting, viewers can see people running away from the burning building. The woman falls from the window of that building. Close to the figure of a man, who is standing with his arms stretched up in the air in soundless screaming, are depicted two human faces. The look on their faces is tense and worried but at the same time is full of determination.
On the left side of the canvas, Picasso depicted a crying mother with her head thrown back as she holds the dead child in her arms. This image symbolizes the grief of all mothers who witnessed the death of their children in the horror of war. The bull stands close to the mother with the expression of indifference on its face as it tramples the fallen warrior. The warrior still holds the broken sword in his arms. The woman, whose appearance resembles an antique goddess, holds the torch with her arms stretched forward.
The women’s mouth is wide open, she is screaming, but there is no one to hear her. The wounded horse is dying in convulsions. At the top of the scene, there is an eye-shaped light bulb. Everything is collapsing. The lines have an important part in the overall perception of the paintings: sometimes they are thin and round and sometimes sharp and refracted. These lines represent the reality distorted by the war.
The painting is filled with the symbols of anger, pain, and horrors of the war. The warrior represents the physical suffering, the bull is a symbol of cruelty, the representation of the war, and the horse is a symbol of the pain of the innocents. The light bulb at the top of the scene is a symbol of the sun. To conclude, Picasso conveys his anti-war message through the means of symbolism, but he left the task of interpreting those symbols to the public: “It isn’t up to the painter to define the symbols. Otherwise, it would be better if he wrote them out in so many words. The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as they understand them” (qtd. in Macmillan 137).
Picasso’s abstract style of painting benefits to the perception of Guernica, while tragic, tormented images emphasize the destructive power of war. When looking at this painting, it seems that we can hear the sound of exploding bombs and people’s cry. The haunting images of Guernica symbolize anger, pain, and the chaos of war. It is a timeless masterpiece and a warning to future generations.
The Picassos masterpiece has caused a massive public outcry. This work is full of symbols, and they are interpreted by different researches in various ways.
Melvin Becraft, in his book, has made a complete investigation concerning Picassos Guernica. He studies its color scheme, composition and the history of its creation. A special attention is given to a symbolism of the picture. Becraft scrutinizes every detail of it trying to find a hidden meaning in every image. He views the Picassos masterpiece as a puzzle with different clues for its solution (Becraft 66). However, these clues are hidden and everyone may perceive them in its own way. Becraft also points out the triadic character of the canvas and its persuasive musical theme represented by means of slightest hints.
In her article Jacqueline Brittain investigates the history of Picassos masterpiece creation. The author also emphasizes the specific composition of Guernica, which makes it unique in its own way. The huge size of the canvas makes a great impact on a person and makes impossible to ignore its antiwar character. The author suggests that the choice of color scheme has been intended to make the image similar with the newspaper article. Newspaper was the main source of information in 1930 – the period when the masterpiece was created. In such a way, Picasso has made his canvas more vivid and real. The author also investigates the composition of Guernica, paying attention to the prevailing usage of triadic patterns in it (Brittain par.14).
Brandon Wallis states that there are too many opinions concerning the interpretation of symbols in Picassos Guernica. The author also mentions the facts of criticism from the time when it has appeared (Wallis 2). Now this masterpiece is appreciated all over the world. The author also explains the Picassos chose of black, grey and white color. Apart from the similarity with the newspaper article, Picasso could not paint it in color because of the tragic events the canvas described. In the article, a special attention is also given to symbols. However, the author emphasizes the fact that Picasso, being asked concerning their meaning, has not given a distinct answer.
Works Cited
Becraft, Melvin. Picassos Guernica. Images with images. New York: Spadem,1985. Print.
Brittain, Jacqueline. Blood is Thicker in Oil. n.d. Web.
Macmillan, Josephine. She Is Everywhere! An Anthology of Writing in Womanist/Feminist Spirituality. Vol.1. Bloomington: iUniverse, 2005. Print.
Wallis, Brandon. Picassos Guernica: A Critical Analysis of Allegorical Meanings Behind a Modern Anti-War Statement. University of Lethbridge. 2009. Web.
Winter, Jay. Dreams of Peace and Freedom: Utopian moments in the Twentieth century. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008. Print.
The Blind Man’s Meal is a 1901 painting by Pablo Picasso, which can be found in the online museums and other public museums in the nation. The painting shows a lonely man, in a solitary room with no one else to keep him company. The painting is set in a corner with nothing else in the room except the man and his meal. This meal includes a piece of bread, a bowl and a jug. The man is holding one piece of bread with his left hand stretching out to grasp something to drink.
The most notable artistic technique used in the painting is the use of color, which is used a symbol of solitude. Color is also used to show different components of the artwork. Particularly, blue color is used as a symbol of sadness and solitude. This dull color is combined with the black color, which is also dull in order to reinforce the main theme of solitude. Light color is used in contrast with the black color to show important parts in the picture. For example, it is used to show the blind man’s face and hands. White color is also used to bring awareness of the white piece of cloth on the table. Brown color is used on the bread and on the jar of wine at the left hand side of the man. Color shading is also used on the painting for various purposes. For example, the title denotes that the individual is blind. To confirm this, a dark shadow is used on the blind man’s eye.
Another technique used by the artist is the use of lines where lines make the blind man’s arms to be long, which is similar to his fingers that are also long. It is clear from the use of line that the man would be tall if he were standing. In the background, the artist use lines to show the sadness in this room. The artist also uses line to show that there is only one table in the room.
The other property used by the artist is texture, which is used on the blind man’s arms, neck and his clothing. It is also used on the table, the piece of bread, the jar of wine and on the wall to give the painting some form of beauty. The piece of cloth on the table seems to be of different texture from the texture of everything else in the room. The artist also uses space in this painting to show how different things including the man are situated. Empty space is used to show the feeling of emptiness. In addition, the artist uses little or no repetition where unity and balance is seen to create some form of unity. This helps in bringing out the aesthetic beauty of this picture. One notable thing is that the painting represents not only a blind man, but a lonely and desperate individual.
In conclusion, The Blind Man’s Meal is a painting of a solitary man in the corner of an almost dark room. The artist uses various artistry methods such as line, color, texture and space to bring out the theme of solitude in this picture. However, color seems to play a huge role in this picture since it is the dominant feature.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) made outstanding contributions to artwork. He always tried to leave hidden images in his paintings and mainly used collages in his works of art. “The Tragedy” is a three-dimension piece of artwork created using oil and wood to represent image. An impression of three people at a beach on the sea creates an open form, and the artist used blue colour to indicate the beach and the sea.
Pablo used lines mainly to draw in the images. Contour lines bring out the shape of the faces of the three people depicted in this art piece. Vertical lines bring out the shape of the people, who are standing, and an outline to show significant parts of this piece of art. Geometric shapes bring out clear images of the three people in the picture (Picasso, The Tragedy). Pablo used one key shade and tint.
The picture is monochromatic with different shades of blue. The shades bring out a high unity level in the artwork. A balance in the scene is created because the three images fill the whole surface. There is a visual texture that allows this piece of art to look smooth.
The picture represents a tragedy that befell Pablo. His close friend, Carlos Casagemas, died in 1901. It also shows empathy for the poor by Pablo and the fact that he was longing for his home as he was always away from Spain. The masterpiece is an abstract showing a man and woman in a sombre mood and a child who is clapping, probably to get some warmth on the cool beach.
Blue colour symbolizes the Blue Period, a time when there were several prostitutes, beggars as well as other social misfits in urban areas (Picasso, “The Tragedy”). It portrays the reality of contemporary societies whereby some families have conflicts with the wife and husband in a sad mood and the children trying to bring joy into the family.
Hedgerow Birds, piece of art by Helen Musslewhite
Helen Musslewhite’s painting can be described as utilitarian since it improves the looks of many offices in the UK. She visualizes every image before putting it down, and her work is full of creativity. This particular artwork is two-dimensional, represented on a picture plane. The artist used paper to create a painting. She cut it, folded it, and drew the images on the piece of paper.
She used neutral colours to draw this piece of art. Different shades of grey create unity in this work of art whereas white colour shows the nature’s peace (Musselwhite, “Hedgerow Birds”). The artist used curved, vertical and diagonal lines to create the shape of plants and the birds, and an outline to enclose the images. There are several organic shapes of birds and plants, and geometric shapes of flowers.
She balanced the artwork since the images occupied the entire surface of the painting. Texture is not one of the principal elements here, but there is a visual texture of smoothness.
The piece of art is representational, and anyone observing it can see four birds on a hedgerow amidst plants. The artwork represents a typical countryside in the UK where Helen grew. Thus she urged people to conserve the nature (plants as well as animals). This masterpiece shows an influence of nature on the artist (Musselwhite, “Hedgerow Birds”) and helps people appreciate the countryside.
The artist represents social history in the form of folk art. The work is a strong appreciation of social development shown through the life of birds in the same environment. Thus, human beings can keep away from conflict and live in unity and harmony, just like those birds.