How Picasso portrays a certain mood in his artwork
“Picasso believed Art to the son of Sadness and Suffering… that sadness lent itself to meditation and that suffering was fundamental to life… If we demand sincerity of an artist, we must remember that sincerity is not to be found outside the realm of grief.”
-Jaime Sabartes While living in Paris, far from his family and home, in extreme poverty and unappreciated, Picasso began his “Blue Period” in 1901 and it lasted until 1904. This was triggered by the death of his closest friend, Carles Casagemas, whose "infatuation with a girl and her rejection led to his subsequent attempt to kill her and to his own suicide. Picasso later explained, "It was thinking about Casagemas that got me started painting in blue"(Picasso and the, 2013). "Picasso intentionally painted in monochrome tones of blue which reflected his low psychological state, and portrayed that to the viewer of his artwork"(Color as Emotion, n.d.) His blue paintings portray destitute human beings. He chose the color blue deliberately. These paintings are deep and cold, signifying misery and despair — "to intensify the hopelessness of the figures depicted, such as beggars, prostitutes, the blind, out-of-work actors and circus folk, as well as Picasso himself and his penniless friends. At the time, Picasso even wore blue clothes"(Picasso and the, 2013). In 'The Tragedy' (1903) he uses cool blues to evoke the chill of sadness and despair in a typically gloomy subject from this period(Color as Emotion, n.d.). Artist Laura Joy Lustig recolored "Tragedy" in 2003. Viewing her piece it is easy to see how the coloring has great effect and the mood of the painting eases if you remove the color, or recolor it with different hues. |