Introduction
Speaking on the topic of Arts, it would be relevant to suggest the exhibition of Pablo Picasso’s works running at National Gallery of Art, as an object of the discussion and critique. This exhibition is indeed worth attention, as the creator of the paintings provided there, Pablo Picasso’s, made a great impact in foundation of the modern art
While looking at Picasso’s works, there is no doubt that, while creating them, he had used complex approach and found innovative art solutions. It is significant that subject of his masterpieces is surprisingly deep. The value of the exhibition is great because it can be regarded as an exhaustive description and representation of Pablo Picasso’s art before cubism art period. This exhibition presents periods since artist’s academic and realist works that are related to his youth path till his brilliant stylistic peaces of the late 1906.
Main body
The exhibition is divided into four periods corresponding to certain life and work circumstances of Pablo Picasso. Those periods are: early youth, modernism in Barcelona and Paris, the Blue Period, the Saltimbanque, Gosol and after. It might be suggested to analyze and describe Picasso’s works in accordance with those periods (concluding with Blue Period) with the view to understand better the motives, feelings that the artist experienced while creating them and, thus, undertake the message send to public through this masterpieces.
Here might be viewed Picasso’s “Study of a Torso” (original place of the exhibit: 1894-1895, Musee Picasso/Picasso Museum, Paris, France, also known as “After a Plaster Cast”; drawing, charcoal on paper) – one of the early drawings in the formative work style that dates to the youth period. While studying in Barcelona and Madrid art schools through 1890’s, the artist was working with live athletic models and various Greek and Roman sculptures available in the art academies.
This early painting classicism style may be evaluated as an important step in Picasso’s creative work and career, as it would serve as the as the mediator for some of his famous original work. While looking at it, the viewer might have a feeling of beauty admiration and aesthetic satisfaction, but at the same time, one may feel the presence of violence (this is very common for the works of the Renaissance period).
The drawing, done on paper with charcoal, shows the torso that had lost its head and all of its limbs owned by each human being. Pablo Picasso’s drawing savors the deep and well comprehend pattern of muscle that is constrained by the unavoidable violence. He enhanced effect by using shades masterly. In order to display torso’s beauty, the artist forced the body into a vivid pose.
Being a student, Pablo Picasso was also interested in the representation of different subjects and portraiture using less idealized manner then in his classicism style’s works. The young artist was greatly impressed by local cites and objects of the places that he visited. He was really inspirited by the figures of an old Malaga’s sailor called Salmeron, therefore, he expressed his emotions in the portrait of this sailor – “The Old Fisherman” (original place of exhibit: 1895, Museu de Montserrat/Montserrat Museum, Barcelona, also known as “Salmeron”; canvas, oil painting). This painting creates the feeling of freedom and indestructible spirit.
Picasso’s art was also affected by his studies of Velazquez’s and Ribera’s works, who were famous old Spanish masters. This led young artist to create several large – scale pieces on the allegorical and religious topics. The happiness and carefree manner of the young artist’s life reflected in his playful “Self – Portrait in a Wig” (original location of the exhibit: 1896, Museu de Montserrat/Montserrat Museum, Barcelona, canvas, oil painting), where Picasso makes a joke describing himself as a Spanish noble of the eighteenth century, and, indeed, this portrait makes most of the viewers to laugh. Meeting with another Spanish artist El Greco influenced Picasso’s work style. It might be traced that in a few years as the mannerisms would hold an important place in Picasso’s creative work.
Following this, it is necessary to pass to the Pablo Picasso’s modernism in Barcelona and Paris. Here might be observed that in his “Sabartes Seated” (original place of the exhibit: 1900, Museu Picasso/Picasso Museum, Barcelona, also known as “Portrait de Jaume Sabartes”; charcoal and watercolor on paper) created in Barcelona, the artist uses entirely different style fro his previous works. Here might be viewed sinuate contour lines, rather simplified shapes, and not natural artificial colors.
The artist created two-dimensional spatial on the paper. He depicted mass constricted forms tied together in the frame of a closed outline. There also can be observed deformations determined by the absence of spatial perspective. Such deformations were used by Picasso with the view to concentrate the attention on the flexible hand without wrist that was holding the beer glass. The artist used just sober colors. The jacket of a man is dark blue concerning a blue background; Sabartes’ hair is dim brown; the glass is depicted in gray color.
This work creates the atmosphere of challenge and disobedience to the official rules. Picasso was inspired by the ideas of his new friends – young avant-garde artists and writers, who started decadents’ movement and established Modernism. Pablo Picasso’s work style was influenced greatly by famous French artists – Theophile Steinlen and Toulouse – Lautrec.
The artist was greatly impressed with life and fate of urban poor, political anarchy of that period and their social causes. Significantly, themes from the street life of Barcelona and Paris would become frequent subjects of Picasso’s work.
And now, might be viewed the Blue Period’s “The Old Guitarist” (original place of exhibit: 1903, Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; canvas, oil painting) portrayed in dark corner of a poor neighborhood. This work is permeated with the artist’s melancholy or despair caused by the suicide of his close friend – Casagemas. In order to express his feelings, Picasso used solemn and dark plots; he adopted a palette of blue shades that represented the condition of his soul.
The artist emphasized the socially outcaste and poor guitarist poverty. He masterly expressed this by surrounding the man’s figure with a dark blue and black outline. Using this technique the artist tried to ‘cut’ this beggar off from his surrounding. The guitarist is locked and squeezed within the canvas, so there is no chance for him to raise his lowered head. With the help of this, Picasso revealed old man’s helplessness: the guitarist is locked within the frame of the painting, same as he is locked by his poverty and social outcast position.
The associations of despair and melancholy affected Picasso’s subject matter, the message of the artist soul that seeks for answer. In the search of this answer, Pablo Picasso depicted suffering of poor people, fate of prostitutes and their children; he represented to public the hopelessness and disparity by the work that showed Paris’ prison for women – Saint – Lazare.
Conclusion
It would be relevant to finish the description and the analysis of the exhibition on the Picasso’s Blue Period works, as they might be considered as a peak of his creative work. This might be proved by the assumption under which, the artist can fully recover his talents only through the sorrow, when his soul seeks for answer and he shares his feelings and emotions with others though his work trying to send a message to the public, and this message consists of the truth that the artist undertakes by understanding the means of the suffrage.
Works Cited
Blunt, Anthony, and Phoebe Pool. Picasso, the Formative Years: A Study of His Sources. New York: Graphic Society, 2002.
Geiser, Bernhard, and Pablo Picasso. Picasso: Fifty-Five Years of His Graphic Work. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2005.
Larrea, Juan. Guernica, Pablo Picasso. Trans. Alexander H. Krappe. Ed. Walter Pach. New York: Curt Valentin, 1997.