Mrs. Keyfitz's Art Blog

Art Inspiration, Discussion & Appreciation




Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso (1921) What we learned- Picasso founded the style of Cubism, which took realistic imagery and broke it apart (like a shattered mirror). There are two kinds of Cubism- Synthetic (medium is the same, collage-like elements simulated with paint) and Analytic (real collage elements like paper are used in addition to dry media like charcoal) The three figures, a harlequin, a pierrot, and a monk, are generally believed to represent Picasso, Guillaume Apollinaire and Max Jacob, respectively. Discussion Questions: Why would Picasso paint the three figures in such a disjointed manner? What kind of shapes did Picasso use in the painting? What other paintings have we studied in which a painter used real life acquaintances as models?

Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso (1921)

What we learned-

  • Picasso founded the style of Cubism, which took realistic imagery and broke it apart (like a shattered mirror).
  • There are two kinds of Cubism- Synthetic (medium is the same, collage-like elements simulated with paint) and Analytic (real collage elements like paper are used in addition to dry media like charcoal)
  • The three figures, a harlequin, a pierrot, and a monk, are generally believed to represent Picasso, Guillaume Apollinaire and Max Jacob, respectively.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why would Picasso paint the three figures in such a disjointed manner?
  2. What kind of shapes did Picasso use in the painting?
  3. What other paintings have we studied in which a painter used real life acquaintances as models?

Notes