At the Pompidou, we observed an exhibition of cubist paintings by Braque and Picasso. One such painting is Le Guitariste by Picasso. The cubist movement aimed to explore the possibilities of what paintings could offer beyond two-dimensional representation. Many considered these paintings to abstract, but the artists felt their works were connected with reality. Their realities, however, were connected with an alternative dimension- cubist paintings were meant to connect with the “feeling” around a three-dimensional object.
Le Guitariste by Picasso, as the name indicates, is Picasso’s depiction of the three-dimensional space around a guitar. This painting holds value because of the artistic influence Picasso imparted on the work. Upon first impression, it is difficult to uncover to subject of this painting, but the title and knowledge of the cubist ideal inform us that this is how Picasso sees a guitar. This creates an interesting dynamic for the observer, as we are allowed a glimpse into a alternative reality as Picasso views it.
Le Guitariste also holds value in the scientific history it connect with. Around the time of this paintings creation scientists were beginning to uncover a sub-atomic level to the world around us. The discovery of the atom opened up the minds of the artists of the time. Cubists were fascinated by the idea that there was a microscopic world they could capture. This painting by Picasso attempts to depict a sub-atomic world through the use of geometrical shapes and strong lines.
The techniques of this painting also connect with a larger movement that span across modernism: the pursuit of alternate forms of representation. Le Guitariste fails as a traditional picture of a guitar, but it succeeds in how the artist has offered the observer with a new and exciting way to view an ordinary object. The painting is important because of the ideas it connects with and the vision it proposed for the future possibilities of representation in artwork.
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