The Melancholy and the Playfulness Aspects of Modern Portrait: A Brief Analysis of Modernism
Modernism is arguably the depiction of an object, theme, or subject matter that builds upon its predecessors to become relevant with its time period. In mere contrast to Renaissance paintings and Academic paintings before them, Modernism was provocative and unexpected in nature. Essentially, Modernism breaks those barriers in order to enhance the audience’s experience and to challenge them to understand the painting from many different lenses. Although seemingly different upon first glance, Picasso’s The Old Guitarist 1903-04 and Man with a Pipe, 1915 both built upon previous styles of portraiture to evoke emotions relevant to their time. Notably one of Picasso’s most famous works, The Old Guitarist emerges from his blue period, one in which he captures the essence of...