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Blue Paintings
By peace | October 1, 2010
Child with a Dove (Picasso, 1901)
Near the end of 1901, when Picasso returned to Barcelona, he began his so-called Blue Period paintings. Not only did the colour of his works change during this time, but also he started to sign his paintings “Picasso” instead of “P. Ruiz Picasso”. One of the first blue paintings he made was titled Child with a Dove (above). It shows the sad and tender feelings Picasso experienced after the death of Casagemas.
Picasso entered Madrid’s Royal Academy of San Fernando in 1897. Although the school was respected, Picasso found it too traditional. He did not want to copy paintings done by famous artists of the past. He wanted to create his own art. Picasso left school and rented an apartment in Barcelona with his best friend Carles Casagemas. The young men were very poor.
When he was almost 19, PIcasso visited Paris, France, with Casagemas. At that time, Paris was an important centre for artists. Picasso visited galleries, which are rooms that show works of art, and museums. Museums are places where a collection of art or historical items are safely kept for people to see and study. Picasso saw the paintings of the Impressionists, such as Claude Monet.
Picasso liked Paris but decided to return to Spain. But poor Casagemas was broken-hearted. His girlfriend had left him. Picasso’s family did not like what they saw when he walked in the door. The way he was dressed and his long hair! They were sure he was wasting his life. So Picasso moved to Madrid. Back in Madrid, he helped start an art magazine. He did political cartoons for the magazine about the sorry state of the poor. He left behind his friend Casagemas, who was still terribly depressed and difficult to be around.
Soon Carles Casagemas returned to Paris. He was at his wits’ end. First he tried to shoot his old girlfriend. Then he shot himself and died. Back in Madrid, Picasso received news that his friend Casagemas had died. Picasso was in shock. He may have also felt guilty about leaving his friend in such bad shape. Casagemas’ death affected Picasso’s painting. The style of Picasso’s paintings changed — he painted 2 dark funeral scenes and 2 death portraits of Casagemas. Then he began painting with the colour blue.
Between 1901 and 1904, Picasso moved between Barcelona and Paris. He went to Paris twice, in May 1901 and in October 1902. Both times he lived in poverty. He rented cheap, poorly heated apartments. All the while Picasso continued to paint. What made his work unusual during this time was that he painted using only shades of blue. The colour blue gave his paintings a gloomy look. So did his subject matter.
Picasso said,”It was thinking of Casagemas that made me start painting in blue.”
At this time, Picasso painted people who looked unhappy or troubled, such as The Old Guitarist. Many art critics, the people who write their opinions about art, and art dealers did not like these paintings. They wanted him to go back to painting as he had before. Picasso, however, knew he could not paint what other people wanted. He had to stay true to himself.
Topics: All Posts, Arts, children, Famous People | 6 Comments »
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