Symbolism & Aestheticism · 1903–1904

The Old Guitarist

Pablo Picasso 1881–1973

Still in copyright: the image isn't shown, only the colors measured from it.

The Old Guitarist (1903–1904) by Pablo Picasso. Its palette is led by dark slate (#293c42, 38%) and charcoal (#212c30, 21%). Overall the canvas is dark, muted and cool.

Color notes

A Blue Period work. Traces of an earlier figure can be seen showing through the blue paint.

Picasso's early periods are named after colors: the Blue Period (1901–04), which followed a close friend's suicide, and the warmer Rose Period (1904–06). In Analytic Cubism (1909–12) he and Braque cut color back to near-monochrome browns and greys to concentrate on form.

Palette

#293c42 MG 211 dark slate 37.6% of canvas
#212c30 MG 222 charcoal 20.9% of canvas
#3c4d4a MG 217 iron 19.0% of canvas
#3f6166 MG 083 muted teal 18.1% of canvas
#557774 MG 082 muted azure teal 4.5% of canvas

Color families

Gray 49%, Blue 34%, Black 9%, Brown 6%, Green 3%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.37
Contrast: 0.22
Vividness: 0.027
Warmth: -1.00
Complexity: 22 cells
Hue range: 0.34
Focus: 0.12

Composition

60% of the visual weight is in the left half, 58% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.26 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 73% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 26% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1903–1904
Medium: Oil on panel
Size: 122 × 82 cm
Made in: Spain
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago