Pablo Picasso The Three Musicians Essays Example

Pablo Picasso’s, ‘The Three Musicians’ was painted in 1921, and is renowned as one of his greatest works. Here we observe the classic combination of colour and line, where the musicians are lounging about in characteristically jaunty poses with not much care for the world. Picasso uses boisterous colours with blue and yellow particularly prominent and demonstrative.
The three figures also contain diverse aspects which are immediately noticeable. The musician playing the guitar (which is coloured yellow) is almost obscured by the one playing the flute. The accordion player who is situated at the back is almost dressed like the harbinger of death with a long cloak as well as a beard. The artist also portrays the instrument in an innovative form since it is showing notes on the same accordion. The darkish brown hues which colour the floor and the walls are also in keeping with the subject which is rather morose. In fact brown is the colour which springs to mind immediately when observing the painting which also contains elements of proportion and balance especially in the way the figures seemingly merge into each other.
Other figures which are perhaps not immediately visible are the dog at the background and a fox or other similar animal in the foreground beneath the flute player. Lighting is also quite sparingly used especially in the corners of the painting where dark is almost a fixture. The lines of the painting are also quite irregular in their construction. The colours which seem to dominate proceeds most are blue and yellow with the latter appearing in two of the three figures. The instruments which the musicians play are also brightly coloured demonstrating an affinity with their message and soundings. The flutist and guitarist are seated and each figure seems to merge into the other with the accordionist also showing a certain element of decadence.
‘The Three Musicians’ also seems to recreate a sense of visual tension especially in the focused and direct impressions of the subjects in question. First and foremost, the painting combines the five elements of art which are line, shape, value, space and texture very well indeed. The sense of space is also very important with the three musicians almost blending into each other and when you look at the painting directly, one is forgiven for thinking that they are almost one person and not three.
The autobiographical nature of the work is also important to understand. The Three Musicians is a work which is painted in the Synthetic Cubist style and the figures are actually a Harlequin, a Pierrot and a monk, the latter being quite obvious. Here we have Picasso’s obsession with the ‘Commedia dell’Arte’ since these strange and mysterious figures held a deep fascination for the artist. The Harlequin is actually a self-portrait of Picasso himself while the Pierrot is a depiction of his friend Guillaume Apollinaire, an up and coming poet like Max Jacob who is the monkish figure in the painting. Apollinaire died of the deadly Spanish Flu in 1918 while Jacob became a monk and entered a monastery in 1921. The painting is a recreation of a scene from around 1910 when all three friends were hanging out together.
The Cubist style is very much in evidence in the way the painting is set out. One can sense the rhythmic élan as well as the proportions of the work with the three figures almost resembling tree-like structures in their rigidity. Although the instruments can be seen quite clearly there is a sense of grotesqueness about everything especially in the way the flute is larger than life whilst the guitar is small and almost similar to a banjo in its shape. The shots of colour continue to add cubist influences to the painting where the splashes are also very powerful but at the same time, quite intimidating in their sense of dignity.
The work also contains some stylistic features which mark it out from the rest. Perhaps the most important element remains the colour whilst the way the textures are applied also show a strong Cubist influence. Picasso’s treatment of the instruments is also very original since it conveys an understanding of the ways in which they work. The clarinet and guitar are especially clear.
‘The Three Musicians’ is an important example of Picasso’s Cubist style and influence. Here we can observe how the work of art is completely transformed into lines, arcs and planes especially in the way which the figures combine into one. This intellectual style allows the viewer to deconstruct the painting with his/her own thoughts and combines these thoughts with the artist’s own. The insertion of other figures such the dog, gives the painting an element of domesticity, and while the room appears to be caving in, the musicians are firm and rigid. The boisterous colourings of the musicians are part and parcel of the painting which is an excellent example of the Cubist style.