Picasso A Guide for Teachers

The thin,barefoot,shabbily clothed figures in this Blue period composition refer to physical deprivations, which Picasso himself experienced as he struggled to establish himself as an artist. In addition to the cold and hunger of poverty, the work expresses psychological suffering,which may reflect the dislocation that Picasso experienced as a young and destitute foreigner in Paris. This powerful image conveys a sense of spiritual alienation in keeping with the intellectual discontent of his bohemian milieu. Tragedy is one of a number of Blue period paintings that capture the mood of melancholy and isolation.There is no specific narrative associated with the painting. The man, thewoman, and the child exemplify the woman,and the child exemplify the depths of the human condition. Infact,the ambiguous quality of thework — so laden with meaning, yet beyond literal interpretation — is another of its modern aspects. In an era of few certainties, traditional storytelling may have no longer been seen to serve a meaningful artistic function. The figures are carefully drawn, and the contours of their bodies reveal much about their states of mind. The faces, especially of the males,are rendered in a way that suggests Picasso’s academic training. His Spanish roots are also evident: the elongated proportions that emphasize the sadness of these figures are reminiscent of the work of El Greco