1914 Nature morte- Guitare, journal, verre et as de trКfle Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Period of creation: 1908-1918

The composition presents a still life arrangement fractured into geometric planes and fragmented perspectives. A table surface, rendered in muted browns and grays, serves as the foundation for a collection of objects – a guitar, what appears to be a newspaper or journal, a glass vessel, and a playing card bearing the emblem of a clover. These items are not depicted realistically; instead, they are deconstructed into angular shapes and overlapping facets.
The color palette is restrained, dominated by cool tones – blues, grays, and greens – interspersed with darker browns and blacks. The limited range contributes to a sense of somberness and detachment. Light sources are ambiguous, casting shadows that further obscure the forms and contribute to the overall feeling of disorientation.
Here we see an attempt to represent objects not as they appear from a single viewpoint, but rather as they might be perceived through multiple perspectives simultaneously. This technique disrupts traditional notions of spatial depth and creates a flattened, almost two-dimensional effect. The guitar’s form is particularly fragmented, its curves broken down into sharp angles that suggest both presence and absence.
The inclusion of the newspaper or journal introduces an element of narrative, albeit one rendered illegible through fragmentation. The playing card, with its clover symbol, hints at themes of chance, luck, and perhaps even fragility – a delicate emblem disrupted by the surrounding chaos.
Subtly, a sense of melancholy pervades the work. The fractured forms and muted colors evoke a feeling of loss or disruption. It is possible to interpret this as a reflection on the instability of existence, where familiar objects are rendered alien through the lens of fragmentation. The deliberate dismantling of recognizable forms suggests an underlying questioning of established order and representation itself.