The Old Guitarist
To most people, a piece of artwork is just paint, colors, lines, and pictures that fill a blank canvas. Sometimes the whole story of the painting is evident, easily understandable through the dramatic poses of its subjects or the flamboyant backgrounds. But some paintings are not as loud as other paintings. It doesn't scream out and grabs people's attention. The painting The Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso is an example of a silent painting with a theme that can be interpreted into different ways, depending on the views of the person.When you first see the painting of The Old Guitarist, the dramatic blues will overcome your senses with a feeling of despair. People mostly associate blue with sadness, hence the phrase "Why you feel so blue?" The elongated fingers and the pitiful expression on the man's face will spark a sense of sadness. He plucks the strings of his guitars, as if playing a last song of hope. You immediately think of him as a poor beggar, with the tattered clothes on his back. Picasso extends our sympathy for this guy by not putting shoes on his feet. We wonder if he's cold in the streets. Then he is slouched down, as if he is tired from a hard day of looking for food or work. Bu
In the painting Old Guitarist, the man is continuing his love for the guitar despite it ruining his financial and physical health. Maybe Picasso made the man like that as a foretelling of our tragic destination, our death. t he still has his guitar, the only thing not painted in a shade of blue. It stands out as if it is a symbol of who he is. It passes our minds as if never existed. Why did he make the guitar brown and not blue? Why is he trying to center our attention to this guitar? I believe that the guitar symbolizes talent that goes unnoticed. It takes time to appreciate its beauty and find an alternative story to its meaning. During Pablo Picasso's blue period, most of his paintings were in blue due to his depressed status at the time. But why is he like that? What is he thinking of? Is he thinking of the inevitable grief and sadness that everyone will come upon in our lives? Maybe, he is trying to tell us that we as humans cannot be spared from suffering, that like him, one day we too will play our last song. The significance of the painting may lie on the brown guitar that he is holding. In this world of ours the materialism has become more important than the appreciation of the aesthetic. But most viewers of the painting will probably pass over the guitar and focus on the depressed blue. We shouldn't be like the painting where the guitar, the symbol of talent and our gift, goes unnoticed and is overshadowed by the outside interferences. Harsh brushstrokes and violent colors can be interpreted as anger or rage. But we may never know, for like the guitar, it is overshadowed by other thoughts in our head.
Common topics in this essay:
Pablo Picasso,
Pablo Picasso's,
Maybe Picasso,
painting guitarist,
pablo picasso,
guitarist pablo picasso,
talent matter,
person painting,
significance painting,
goes unnoticed,
shades blue,
guitarist pablo,
Guitarist Pablo,
|
Acceptance Essays
