Picasso’s first portrayal of his mourning was The Death of Casagemas (1901). Picasso was shattered by the news but his misery would lead to the first major breakthrough of his artistic career.Īs he became increasingly consumed with Casagemas’ suicide, he began to commit the memory of his friend to canvas. The 20-year-old Casagemas was dead within the hour and because of the distance, Picasso could not attend his friend’s funeral. Casagemas however turned the gun onto his right temple and pulled the trigger. Fortunately, she had the foresight to duck, sustaining just a graze on the neck from the bullet. But he pulled out a pistol and shot at Germaine. Several bottles of wine later, Casagemas got up and mumbled an incoherently slurred speech which no one paid much attention to. On the 17 th of February 1901, while Picasso was in Spain, Casagemas invited Germaine and a group of friends to dinner in a Parisian café. The Death of Casagemas (1901) by Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons His heavy drinking did nothing to quell his pining for Germaine, the object of his desires. The combination of seedy establishments, absinthe, and unrequited love created a dizzying catastrophe for Casagemas. The many paintings produced in their shared Paris depicted scenes of brothels, taverns, hookers, and drunkards. While Picasso had received some interest, he had still not achieved much commercial success.Īs Paris was the epicenter of Western art and culture, it was also the center for extravagance and debauchery. In 1900, when they were just 19, they set their sights on the artistic opportunities that awaited in Paris. Having left art school Picasso began socializing with fellow creatives which is how he met painter Carles Casagemas. However, he must have felt unfulfilled by art school because within a year, he had dropped out. There, he studied master painters such as the Spanish court painter Diego Velazquez. At 16, he’d already secured a place to study at Madrid’s Royal Academy of San Fernando. The young Picasso demonstrated not only a knack for classical art but a capacity to learn quickly and shift between styles. The signature of Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsĬlearly, his confidence was justifiable. As his father’s surname was Ruiz, he should technically be called Pablo Ruiz but young Pablo had other ideas.įrom his earliest sketches, he began practicing signing his mother’s much more glamorous maiden name, Picasso. With an art teacher for a father, he grew up having his natural talent nurtured. From a very young age, he was showing signs of being an exceptional draftsman. Picasso may have spent much of his time practicing in Paris, but he was born in the Mediterranean coastal town of Malaga in Spain. Poverty, suffering, loneliness, melancholy The way the body is oriented around his guitar evokes a figure in desperate isolation, finding solace only through his art. His body is slumped, in a lifeless posture, in a dark corner. He appears to be sitting on the floor, legs crossed.

His closed eyes tell us that he might be blind. Because of his worn clothes, we can surmise that he is destitute. The painting depicts an old man washed in an unearthly lunar light. The Melancholic Blues of Pablo Picasso’s The Old Guitarist 5.3 Is The Old Guitarist Picasso Cubism?.

5.2 What Would The Old Guitarist Be Worth Today?.5.1 What Was the Purpose of The Old Guitarist?.1 The Melancholic Blues of Pablo Picasso’s The Old Guitarist.

Cubism spain old guitarist