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What Is The Mood Of The Old Guitarist

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The Old Guitarist is a painting by Pablo Picasso in 1903 that was made following the death of a friend he held close to him, Casagemas, which soon led to his Blue Period. His Blue Period consisted of paintings with sorrowful themes. The painting of The Old Guitarist shows what appears to be an older and frail looking man hunched over a guitar. During the time of creating The Old Guitarist, Picasso was also influenced by the Expressionism movement in which artists would appeal to the emotional sense of the viewer.
Looking at The Old Guitarist, the viewer can immediately see tragic tone of the painting. This is done with the use of the muted and dull blue color palette scene in the painting. The guitarist appears gaunt, showing little sign of life due to his overall posture. He seems to be barely clinging to the guitar. The guitar itself, however, stands out in a bold tone of brown in comparison to overwhelming blue of the painting. This makes the guitar seem significant in the painting, implying the message that it is probably important to the guitarist, because maybe that is all he might have. …show more content…

Picasso became depressed and went into his blue period shortly after his best friend, Carlos Casagemas, committed suicide over a failed relationship with a girl he was in love with. Casagemas and Picasso were best friends who moved from Barcelona to Paris together. Critics and the public became uninterested of Picasso’s work during this time which drove him to poverty. This was a period in time when a lot of his work was done in dark colored tones and shades such as blue, grey, and black. His work often had themes of sadness and

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