Pablo Picasso

When it comes to conveying emotion through art work an artist who comes to mind is Picasso.
Picasso's work changed a lot throughout his lifetime. A lot of his work is very strong and passioate. One of his earlier works 'Science and Charity' is particularly powerful. It is a painting of a sick man in bed. A doctor is sat one side of the bed and a woman and child are on the other side. I find the name 'Science and Charity' interesting as it is focusing on peoples reaction to the ill, rather than the ill person in this painting. The ill person is right in the middle, drawing our attention to him. The doctor is looking at a watch, recording his pulse. Although it is almost as if he is counting down the time the ill man has left to live. The ill man is being offered a drink but is showing no reaction or attention to the people around. The ill mans pose could work if no one else was in the room. The sad, blank stare of the ill man only amplifies his fear of death and loneliness. This realistic style draws you in and makes it feel 'real'. The green colour of the bed sheet reminds me of a sickly, ill feeling.

Science and Charity 1897. Pablo Picasso - Oil on canvas

Another one of Picasso's paintings that I find interesting is 'The Rape'. It was done a lot later and is not in the same realistic style as, 'Science and Charity', yet just as powerful.  The use of colour is much more obvious and vibrant. The red colour of the peoples skin shows aggression and lust. The paler background colours make the red much more powerful with the extreme contrast. There is less detail in the surroundings than the people, making the people in this painting the sole focus. This also amplifies the severity of the situation.

The Rape 1920. Pablo Picasso - Tempura on wood

Picasso's Cubism work did not fail to evoke emotion either. Picasso did a series of work called 'The Weeping Woman' in a lot of different styles. In his most popular 1937 version, there are a lot of vibrant colours. This painting is modeled on Dora maar who was close to Picasso at one time. He knew her as the woman in tears. In the painting the edges of her facial features are very jagged and sharp - perhaps to signify sharpness and pain. There is a definite sadness in her eyes. She looks distressed and worried. The tears seem to have stripped away the colour and left a blue coldness.

The Weeping Woman. Pablo Picasso 1937

All of these examples are interesting and useful to my work.  They are all made up of completely different techniques to convey emotion. The use of colour, shapes, layout and detail are all very vital in portraying the right emotions in the right way.

I tried to experiment with cubism and tried to convey the emotion 'sadness'. I used acrylic paint. The edges aren't really jagged enough to express ainful emotions without just looking randomly abstract and the features are off. The shape of the mouth is okay and the colours aren't too bad. It was interesting to experiment with a style completely out of my comfort zone.  It is definitely possible to convey any emotion with this style. The composition, colours and shapes just need to be more thought out instead of relying on an obvious facial expression.

Sources

Images

http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/pablo-picasso/science-and-charity-1897

http://blog.mailasail.com/beezneez/1302
http://www.inminds.com/weeping-woman-picasso-1937.html

Books and information

Picasso and Modern British art, James Beechy and Chris Stevens