NAVIGATIONALL ARTISTS
The
Tragedy. Pablo Ruiz Picasso, 1903.
This Blue Period painting was created after the suicide of Picasso's friend Carlos Casagemas. (Picasso painted several portraits posthumously of Carlos that were used in the creation of the painting “La Vie”.) The Blue Period stretched from 1901 to 1904 and was defined by its melancholy subject matter and hues.
The painting depicts a bearded man, a woman, and a child - presumably a family - shoeless and in rags, huddled on a beach. It is uncertain as to what "tragedy" the title refers though the family does seem saddened and out of place, perhaps homeless. The adults seem lost in their thoughts, the child sad. It is this very sad and somber mood that defines most Blue Period pieces. The very idea of living on the margins of society bridges the gap between beggar and modern artist - living on the outskirts of a society on which they so deperately rely.
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Art is a lie that makes us realize truth. - Pablo Ruiz Picasso