Guitar
Oil On Canvas
WallArt
Cubism
1920
Modern
65.0 x 92.0 cm
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This method fully complies with copyright regulations because it does not involve copying or duplicating the protected artwork. Instead, it is a creative reinterpretation - a new painting that is influenced by the original but not identical to it.
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Guitar
Giclée / Art Print
Reproduction Size
-
Total Price
$ 63
Deconstructing Reality: Picasso’s 1920 ‘Guitar’
Pablo Picasso's “Guitar,” painted in 1920, is more than just a depiction of a musical instrument; it’s a powerful statement on the evolving language of modern art. Measuring 65 x 92 cm, this oil on canvas exemplifies Synthetic Cubism at its most refined – a period where Picasso moved beyond analyzing forms to *reconstructing* them in a new visual reality. The painting doesn't aim to replicate what the eye sees, but rather to present multiple viewpoints of the guitar simultaneously, fracturing and reassembling it into geometric planes. This approach wasn’t about distortion for its own sake; it was an attempt to capture the totality of an object’s form and essence on a two-dimensional surface. The warm palette of browns and yellows lends a sense of intimacy and groundedness despite the radical deconstruction, while subtle curves soften the angularity, preventing the composition from feeling overly harsh.The Rise of Crystal Cubism & Picasso's Role
“Guitar” is deeply rooted in the artistic movement known as Crystal Cubism – a term coined to describe the clarity and structural precision that characterized Synthetic Cubism between 1915 and 1920. This phase, following the more fragmented Analytical Cubism, saw artists like Picasso, Juan Gris, and Jean Metzinger prioritizing simplified forms and flattened space. Picasso, alongside Georges Braque, pioneered Cubism as a whole, challenging centuries of artistic tradition that valued realistic representation. Crystal Cubism represented a distillation of these earlier experiments, focusing on order, purity, and the interplay of light and shadow across geometric surfaces. The influence of Paul Cézanne’s late works – particularly his exploration of form and perspective – is subtly present in Picasso's approach to volume and spatial relationships within “Guitar.”Symbolism & Emotional Resonance
While seemingly abstract, "Guitar" isn't devoid of symbolic meaning. The guitar itself has long been associated with passion, romance, and artistic expression. Its deconstruction could be interpreted as a reflection of the changing world following World War I – a sense of fragmentation and rebuilding. The inclusion of barely discernible figures in the background—one on each side flanking a chair—adds a human element to the composition, suggesting a space for contemplation or performance. The chair, often symbolizing absence or waiting, further enriches the narrative possibilities. The painting evokes a feeling of intellectual curiosity and invites viewers to actively participate in deciphering its visual language. It’s not simply *about* a guitar; it's about how we perceive reality and the power of art to reshape our understanding of it.Questions & Answers
Who created "Guitar" and what style is it in?
Pablo Picasso created "Guitar" within the Cubism movement.
Does "Guitar" show strong light-dark contrasts?
The contrast level of "Guitar" by Pablo Picasso is statement.
Is "Guitar" one of Pablo Picasso's most popular works?
"Guitar" is classified as iconic.
Related Artworks
Artist Biography
The boy from Málaga
A child's first words in Málaga were “piz, piz,” a small attempt at saying pencil. This early pull toward the lead and paper was nurtured by his father, José Ruiz y Blasco, who taught him the basics of figure drawing and oil painting. The boy learned to copy the masters and draw from plaster casts under a disciplined eye. As he grew, the family moved through A Coruña and Barcelona. These years were marked by the quiet weight of loss, particularly the death of his sister, Conchita, from diphtheria when she was only seven. Such shadows would later find their way into the heavy, blue-green tones of his early work.
By thirteen, he was already taking entrance exams for advanced classes in Barcelona, finishing in a week what took others a month. His hands moved with a precision that even his father noticed, once seeing him paint over an unfinished sketch of a pigeon with such accuracy that the instructor realized the student had surpassed him. He eventually moved to Paris, a city where he would spend much of his adult life, constantly shifting his focus from one way of seeing to another.
Shifting palettes and fractured forms
The early twentieth century saw his work move through distinct phases of color and mood. There was the Blue Period, where the canvases were filled with beggars, the blind, and the lonely, rendered in somber shades of blue. This gave way to the Rose Period, a time when pinks, oranges, and reds appeared, often featuring the figures of circus performers like harlequins and acrobats. These years showed a man reacting to his own life and the world around him through the temperature of his palette.
In 1907, the way he handled space changed fundamentally with Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Influenced by African masks and Iberian sculpture, he began to break objects into geometric shapes. Alongside Georges Braque, he developed Cubism. This involved two main stages:
- Analytic Cubism: A method of fragmenting objects into muted, geometric pieces as if dissecting the form itself.
- Synthetic Cubism: An approach that brought in collage elements like newspaper clippings and fabric scraps to add texture and new layers.
A life of constant change
His work never settled into a single way of being. He explored Neoclassicism with large, monumental figures and later engaged with the imagery of Surrealism, using distorted perspectives to tap into the subconscious. The violence of the Spanish Civil War left its mark on his canvas in 1937 through Guernica. This large oil painting used a stark palette of black, white, and grey to show the suffering of a bombed town, featuring a gored horse, a bull, and screaming women. It remains a heavy, monochromatic response to the chaos of war.
In his later years, he continued to experiment with ceramics, sculpture, and printmaking. He even created large-scale public works, such as the 1967 steel sculpture in Chicago, which was inspired by the head of his Afghan Hound, Kabul. He died in Mougins, France, leaving behind a massive collection of work that spans over seventy-six years of experimentation.
Pablo Picasso
1881 - 1973 , Spain
Quick Facts
- Full Name: Pablo Diego José Ruiz Picasso
- Nationality: Spanish
- Date Of Birth: 1881
- Date Of Death: 1973
- Place Of Birth: Malaga, Spain
- Notable Artworks:
- Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
- Guernica
- The Old Guitarist
- La Vie
- Family of Saltimbanques
- Artistic Movement Or Style: Cubism, Surrealism
- Artists Who Influenced This Artist:
- Velázquez
- Goya
- Matisse
- Artists Or Movements Influenced By This Artist:
- Cubism
- Modern art

Glass option is only available in size under 110 CM
