Blue Period
At the time, having renounced his classical and traditional education and searching for fame, Picasso and his friend, Carles Casagemas moved to Paris. Unfortunately, just a year later, Casagemas became hopelessly miserable from a failed love affair and committed suicide. Picasso was greatly afflicted by this horrible event and was soon depressed and desolate. In addition, Picasso was very poor. His absolute poverty made him identify and relate to beggars, prostitutes, and other downtrodden outcasts in society. In fact, The Old Guitarist is modeled after a blind artist in Madrid.
These events and circumstances led to the creation of Picasso’s Blue Period, which lasted from 1901 to 1904. The Blue Period is identified by the flat expanses of blues, greys, and blacks, melancholy figures lost in contemplation, and a deep and significant tragedy. However, some rumors say that Picasso was so poor he could only afford a canvas and tubes of blue paint. Either way, The Old Guitarist is a painting produced during Picasso’s Blue Period.
Read more about this topic: The Old Guitarist
Famous quotes containing the words blue and/or period:
“Sometimes we see a cloud that’s dragonish,
A vapor sometimes like a bear or lion,
A towered citadel, a pendant rock,
A forked mountain, or blue promontory
With trees upon ‘t that nod unto the world
And mock our eyes with air. Thou hast seen these signs;
They are black vesper’s pageants.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“There is always a period when a man with a beard shaves it off. This period does not last. He returns headlong to his beard.”
—Jean Cocteau (1889–1963)