Focus on Femme aux Bras Croisés and discuss the Background.
This painting is considered to be an important work dating from Picasso's Blue Period. This period began in 1901 and ended in 1904 with the beginning of his Rose Period. The Blue Period represents an important shift in Picasso's approach from his previous work in terms of style and subject matter. In place of the popular scenes of urban leisure, he began to experiment with monochromes and focus on melancholy themes of poverty, loneliness and death. His paintings were now dominated by shades of blue and featured portraits of destitute, sick people and prostitutes. Picasso's friend Pierre Daix commented that this announced Picasso's "...descent into hell...[into] the depths of solitude and despair". This new style was heavily influenced by the death of Picasso's close friend Carles Casagemas, who committed suicide in 1901.
Pierre Daix Rose Period Picasso's Blue Period Blue Period Carles Casagemas