Today I spent more time looking
at Pablo Picasso… there is a lot of
information out there on him. So, first of all, two fun facts:
- Picasso’s given name when he was born was “Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Crispiniano de la Santísima Trinidad.” Seriously. That is a long name.
- Apparently, more of Picasso’s paintings have been stolen than any other artist. Nice claim to fame there.
I read through the some Wikipedia pages
on Picasso today (find them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso
and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso%27s_Blue_Period),
and simultaneously learned a lot and was overwhelmed by the amount of information.
Love or hate him, there is no denying that Picasso has had a profound influence
on the world of art, and had a long, vibrant career. I don’t think I like most
of his work; however, I’m fascinated by him as a person.
His paintings are typically divided into
several different periods, and today I found myself reading about his “blue
period.” From 1901-1904, he created somber paintings in blue shades. I love the
color blue- it’s my favorite color. However, it can be either a very happy or
sad color. For example, usually a blue sky or beautiful blue ocean are thought
of as happy scenes. Picasso’s blue paintings were not such happy scenes, but
were more on the depressing side of blue and contain themes of loneliness,
poverty and despair. Picasso was depressed and mourning the suicide death of a
friend, and his paintings show this depressed tone. Although these works are
popular today, he had difficulty selling them at the time. The Old Guitarist (pictured below), is one well known work from
this time period. Apparently it is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.
(I really need to get back by there!) I think what makes this painting seem
really depressing to me is that the man’s skin has a blue tone. It just looks
so unnatural and gives the painting a haunted feel. Many of his “blue period”
paintings are like this.
I’m having a hard time deciding if I
like this or not. On the one hand, it is a pretty somber painting. On the other
hand, the color of a painting matters a lot to me. I think I’m leaning towards
not liking it… I don’t think liking the color is enough to overcome the moodiness
of the painting, and I’m not much into moody art these days. I definitely went
through an emo phase, but these days I prefer things to be more bright
and happy.
What do you think of this painting, and
of Picasso’s Blue Period?
Xoxo,
Diana
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