The Modern Museum of Modern Art, New York
© Sucesión Picasso, VEGAP, Madrid, 2023
The painting The Three Musicians (1921) is an example of synthetic cubism, combining the techniques of oil and collage. It is one of Picasso's most recognized abstract works, and the trio of musicians is thought to symbolize significant figures in the painter's life: Guillaume Apollinaire and Max Jacob, both poets and close friends of Picasso, as well as Picasso himself.
On the far left, a clarinet player wears Pierrot's distinctive white suit. On the right, a monk holds a score and wears a black hooded habit. In the center, a Harlequin in an orange and gold diamond patterned costume strums a guitar with energetic movements. Both Pierrot and Harlequin are recurring figures in the ancient Italian comic theater known as commedia dell'arte, a familiar theme within Picasso's artistic creations.
Subtly, beneath the figures of the characters, the presence of a barely perceptible dog is hinted at: its head is located approximately in the left center of the canvas, while its front legs, a hind leg and part of its tail are visible between the legs of Arlequin and Pierrot.
The puzzle-like arrangement of the pieces encapsulates the essence of the synthetic cubist style. These overlapping forms reach their maximum complexity at the epicenter of the painting, which coincides with the brightest point of the palette. This generates a dark atmosphere that frames a glowing, luminous core. Overall, the dark background of the work and its imposing size give the musicians a transcendent quality as a trio.
The work is part of the MoMA Picasso at Fontainebleu proposal for the Picasso Celebration 1973-2023, which pits it against the monumental Three Women at the Spring, painted at the same time. This contrast highlights Picasso's simultaneous investigations of disparate styles that have been so controversial for some critics, who interpreted the changes as a process of regression from the avant-garde to classicism. For Picasso, however, the whole history of art was declining in a present from which he was choosing as he pleased.
Sources:
The Modern Museum of Modern Art, New York :
Pablo Picasso. Three Musicians. Fontainebleau, summer 1921
Pablo Picasso. Three Musicians. Fontainebleau, summer 1921
Ifema :