The Old Guitarist

Painted in late 1903 and early 1904, "The Old Guitarist" comes from a tough chapter in Pablo Picasso's life. He was young, poor, and struggling in Barcelona, and the recent suicide of his close friend Carlos Casagemas had left him heartbroken. During this time, he painted almost everything in shades of blue, which is why art historians call it his Blue Period. The cool, melancholy color washes over this entire canvas, wrapping the frail old man in a mood of sadness and quiet exhaustion.

Look closely at the figure and you can feel his weariness. His body is thin and bent, folded awkwardly around the guitar he clutches close. The instrument itself stands out in warm brown, the one spot of color that breaks the blue, almost as if the music is the only bright thing left in his world. Picasso seems to be saying something about the hardship of artists and the poor, people pushed to the edges of society yet still holding onto their craft.

Here is a strange little secret hidden in the painting. Beneath the surface, experts have found the faint outline of a woman's face, part of an earlier work Picasso painted over because he could not afford new canvas. You can sometimes spot the ghostly shape near the guitarist's neck, a quiet reminder of just how broke the future master once was.