Shades of Sorrow: Picasso’s Emotional Evolution

Picasso's evolving style is clearly illustrated through his self-portraits. Among them, one stands out for its dominant hue. This self-portrait from 1901 was created when Picasso was only 20 years old. The painting is flat, grim, and predominantly blue.

These characteristics define other artworks from 1901 to 1904. This early period is crucial in Picasso's development and is known as The Blue Period.

A year before this period began, Picasso left Spain and moved to Paris at the age of 19. He was joined by his friend Carles Casagemas. Together, they were astonished by the extravagance and decadence of Paris. Casagemas fell deeply in love with Germaine Gargallo, who did not reciprocate his feelings.

On February 17, 1901, while Picasso was in Barcelona, Casagemas hosted a party in Paris. He invited friends and Germaine. After delivering a speech, Casagemas proposed to her, but she declined. Devastated, he shot Germaine and then turned the gun on himself. Germaine survived, but Casagemas died at the age of 20.

This tragic event triggered Picasso's Blue Period. He first painted The Death of Casagemas, depicting his friend’s lifeless body illuminated by candlelight. Later, he reinterpreted this work as Casagemas in His Coffin. In this version, the candle is out, making it darker, and introducing the dominance of blue.

For Picasso, blue became a symbol of deep sadness. He used this color to express catharsis for three years, exploring themes of loneliness, melancholy, poverty, old age, and death. Women played a significant role in his blue works, particularly the figure of the mother.

The most famous painting from this period is The Old Guitarist. Created toward the end of his Blue Period, Picasso was impoverished at the time. He often painted over old artworks due to the lack of canvases. This is why a different figure can be seen through the Old Guitarist.

The painting portrays a blind old man, likely a beggar, playing a guitar. This guitar contrasts with the overall blue tones. The composition creates a triangle from the guitar, the man's hands, and his head. Multiple diagonal lines add dynamism, with the guitar forming the main line.

Many themes of Picasso's Blue Period converge in this piece: poverty, loneliness, despair, and old age. However, the painting may symbolize more than just a beggar's struggle. It can represent the life of an artist. The beggar relies on his guitar for survival, while Picasso relies on his paintbrushes.

Both figures experience loneliness. Artists often create in solitude but rely on the appreciation of others for their livelihood. The Old Guitarist is a significant work, but La Vie, painted in May 1903, more accurately represents Picasso’s Blue Period.

La Vie can be understood through pairs of figures. The first pair is a young man and woman, originally intended as a self-portrait of Picasso but later changed to depict Casagemas two years after his death. The woman likely represents Germaine, and they are shown naked and close together.

gesture with his left hand symbolizes a religious moment. It echoes Jesus's words to Mary Magdalene: Noli me tangere, meaning "do not touch me." This may suggest that Casagemas is urging others to move on from his death.

The second pair features a woman and her child, highlighting motherhood, a theme Picasso explored during the Blue Period. It contrasts with the lovers, possibly hinting at Freud’s Oedipus Complex.

The third pair is two paintings, one resting on the other. Both figures appear curled up in distress, reminiscent of Van Gogh’s Sorrowing Old Man, yet one figure is part of a pair, while the other stands alone. The elevated painting, though gloomy, is less dark than the one below, contrasting sorrow with companionship.

La Vie encapsulates Picasso's Blue Period and its main themes: women, motherhood, loneliness, melancholy, and death. Art plays a central role in this composition, reflecting its significance in Picasso's life. Casagemas appears in the painting, not to haunt Picasso, but to find closure. This cathartic process influenced Picasso profoundly, guiding him from the Blue Period to the Rose Period and eventually to cubism.