The Old Guitarist - Pablo Picasso (1903)

 

THE OLD BLIND GUITARIST. PICASSO

 

                                                  Photo: The old guitarist. Pablo Picasso

English version

"The old guitarist" was painted by the great cubist Pablo Picasso. This artwork was exhibited in 1903. Picasso shows us his ability and dexterity with the oil on panel technique.

The painting is 121cm high x 92cm wide. It can be currently visited at the Art Institute of Chicago, United States. It is one of the most characteristic works of Picasso's Blue Period.

 

Photo: The old blind guitarist. Detail of the tears in the "old man's" clothing. Pablo Picasso

 

Picasso presents us a scene where the stylized and languid figure of a beggar playing the guitar can be observed. Throughout the work, the predominance of the characteristic blue tones of the so-called Blue Period of Picasso can be appreciated.

 Both melancholy and sadness felt by the old man are reflected in all his crudeness, thanks to the use of cold tones (even in the skin tone), which accentuate the old man's feeling of dejection and desolation.

In contrast, we can see the upright position of the guitar, with shades of brown, like a tree of hope that changes as it ascends the neck of the guitar to increasingly darker shades, a symbol of the maturity of the main character.

 In addition, the guitar would be an element of contrast within the composition of the painting, since a strong contrast is generated between the curved lines of the guitar and to the thin and angular body of the old man.

 

Photo: The old blind guitarist. Guitar detail. Pablo Picasso

It is a work of strong impact for the observer. It transmits a sensitivity to the surface of the skin. We see how Picasso shows us a vision full of vital decadence.

This technique ressembles in a way to compositions and style from El Greco or the final stages of Michelangelo’s work.

As previously mentioned, the painting "The old blind guitarist" belongs to Picasso's Blue Period, which would range from the suicide of the painter, Carlos Casagemas, in 1901, until his departure for Paris in 1904. This will be the starting point of a new stage called Pink period.

During his "blue period", Picasso lived in the city of Barcelona. Throughout his paintings, he depicts poverty  (Picasso himself had suffered deprivation until 1902), isolation and the pessimism he felt so identified with.

Blindness will also be a recurring theme throughout his work, due to the fear that Picasso felt of losing his sight, as previously happened to his father.

 

TECHNICAL DATA

Original title: Le vieux guitarriste aveugle

Date: 1903

Style: Expressionism

Period: Blue Period

Genre: genre scene 

Medium: oil on panel

Location: Art Institute of Chicago

Dimensions: 121.3 x 82.5 cm

 

Author: Jose Mª Maestre Domínguez ©

Translated by: Carolina López Montes

 

 

Sources

Except where explicitly stated, this work belongs to Jose Mª Maestre Domínguez, and is licensed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” license.

Asociación Laulanet

https://www.wikiart.org/es/pablo-picasso/the-old-guitarist-blind-1903

https://charlarte.com/el-viejo-guitarrista-ciego-picasso/

https://www.pablopicasso.online/el-viejo-guitarrista-ciego-de-picasso/ 

https://www.ecured.cu/El_viejo_guitarrista_ciego