Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) made outstanding contributions to artwork. He always tried to leave hidden images in his paintings and mainly used collages in his works of art. “The Tragedy” is a three-dimension piece of artwork created using oil and wood to represent image. An impression of three people at a beach on the sea creates an open form, and the artist used blue colour to indicate the beach and the sea.
Pablo used lines mainly to draw in the images. Contour lines bring out the shape of the faces of the three people depicted in this art piece. Vertical lines bring out the shape of the people, who are standing, and an outline to show significant parts of this piece of art. Geometric shapes bring out clear images of the three people in the picture (Picasso, The Tragedy). Pablo used one key shade and tint.
The picture is monochromatic with different shades of blue. The shades bring out a high unity level in the artwork. A balance in the scene is created because the three images fill the whole surface. There is a visual texture that allows this piece of art to look smooth.
The picture represents a tragedy that befell Pablo. His close friend, Carlos Casagemas, died in 1901. It also shows empathy for the poor by Pablo and the fact that he was longing for his home as he was always away from Spain. The masterpiece is an abstract showing a man and woman in a sombre mood and a child who is clapping, probably to get some warmth on the cool beach.
Blue colour symbolizes the Blue Period, a time when there were several prostitutes, beggars as well as other social misfits in urban areas (Picasso, “The Tragedy”). It portrays the reality of contemporary societies whereby some families have conflicts with the wife and husband in a sad mood and the children trying to bring joy into the family.
Hedgerow Birds, piece of art by Helen Musslewhite
Helen Musslewhite’s painting can be described as utilitarian since it improves the looks of many offices in the UK. She visualizes every image before putting it down, and her work is full of creativity. This particular artwork is two-dimensional, represented on a picture plane. The artist used paper to create a painting. She cut it, folded it, and drew the images on the piece of paper.
She used neutral colours to draw this piece of art. Different shades of grey create unity in this work of art whereas white colour shows the nature’s peace (Musselwhite, “Hedgerow Birds”). The artist used curved, vertical and diagonal lines to create the shape of plants and the birds, and an outline to enclose the images. There are several organic shapes of birds and plants, and geometric shapes of flowers.
She balanced the artwork since the images occupied the entire surface of the painting. Texture is not one of the principal elements here, but there is a visual texture of smoothness.
The piece of art is representational, and anyone observing it can see four birds on a hedgerow amidst plants. The artwork represents a typical countryside in the UK where Helen grew. Thus she urged people to conserve the nature (plants as well as animals). This masterpiece shows an influence of nature on the artist (Musselwhite, “Hedgerow Birds”) and helps people appreciate the countryside.
The artist represents social history in the form of folk art. The work is a strong appreciation of social development shown through the life of birds in the same environment. Thus, human beings can keep away from conflict and live in unity and harmony, just like those birds.
Works Cited
Musselwhite, Helen. “Hedgerow Birds.” 1950. JPEG file. Web.
Picasso, Pablo. “The Tragedy.” 1903. JPEG file. Web.