Pablo Picasso's "The Old Guitarist" (1903)

                    Picasso’s style is characterized by Cubism, which is an amalgam of modernist, impressionist, and symbolist styles. For Picasso, the dawn of the 20th century is known as his “blue period”, which was influenced by his poor living conditions and the death of his friend, when he painted miserable scenes of the working class and poor (McCully). Picasso, similar to most modernists during his time, attempted to capture the true lifestyles of beggars and the working class with art.    

                    The working class during the early 20th century had just emerged from the Industrial Revolution, when the social hierarchy was growing increasingly unstable due to the rise of Socialism amongst the working class (“Industrial Revolution”). A repercussion of the Industrial Revolution was that many workers who remained poor were left with desolate working conditions, and many more were afflicted with unemployment and pollution. Picasso, who lived as a vagrant during this time, was one the artists who could relate to this group of people, allowing him to accurately portray his and others’ shared moods.    

   

                    Upon viewing “The Old Guitarist”, we notice that Picasso shades nearly the entire scene blue (with the guitar as an exception), which immediately establishes a desolate and depressing tone. The guitarist’s cadaverous figure and pale skin color shocks viewers with the famine and strife that beggars endured. The blurred strokes of the painting around the guitarist give an impression that he is meditating, and intensifies the mysticism of the portrait. However, Picasso paints the guitar as the central figure of the painting by using brown instead of blue, which pushes the guitar forwards as a more significant and powerful object. It is the only object that is unadulterated by the seemingly constant blue surrounding it and is animate. This could allegorically connect to the guitar being the man’s only means of earning food and money, and is the only thing that keeps him alive (McCully).Overall, The Old Guitarist is a powerful, metaphorical testament to Europe’s issue of poverty after the Industrial Revolution, and inspired future artists to experiment with modernism and other styles of art.     

"Industrial Revolution." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/287086/Industrial-Revolution>.

McCully, Marilyn. "Pablo Picasso." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/459275/Pablo-Picasso/59628/Blue-Period>.