“Picasso portrayed me the way he saw me in the café. When I arrived, canvas stood facing the wall. When he put the painting up on the easel, I was astonished to see myself just as he had surprised me in the café. Here is the spectre of my solitude, seen from without. The line which encloses the idea, eloquent in its simplicity, fixes a gesture suggestive of the artist’s compassion upon surprising his friend in solitude. Such is the image returned to me by the clear light of Picasso’s observation, a fugitive hallucination of his own restlessness, tormented by the discovery of his friend peering into the abyss of his loneliness.”
Painted in the beginning of the Blue Period, this piece had been stored in Picasso’s workshop at boulevard de Clichy; it changed hands for a long time and, eventually, was bought by Shchukin; due to being frequently copied, the painting was tagged “Le bock” (“The Beer”). “Not being fond of seeing myself in a mirror, nor in the photo, I love looking at this portrait… It is the first of my oil-on-canvas portraits”.
From the memoirs of Jaime Sabartes
06 December Hugh Janis from Ur mother's wrote: 'yeah I mean this is cool and all but when I was 8 years old I was rounding up all the neighborhood stray cats and I used to make them fight for food. I was helping those cats more than this painting helps me so if you think about it, this painting really is not that impressive from a grand perspective'
17 November Luke from UK wrote: 'I know nothing about art, but that horse is insanely good ! The legs are perfect, from an 8 year old boy from memory... Insane'
07 August May de la Vega from Miami wrote: 'My inspiration was the great Master P. Picasso, I love his art, and his style helped me to get my own style.'
08 July HungLarry77 from Miami wrote: 'This isn't even impressive yeah sure he was 8 but I've seen better from a retarded infant after his diaper comes off. 2/10'
06 July Diana from Los Angeles, California wrote: 'Picasso’s challenge to us today, (2021) to see, in ordinary “things” we utilize every day, STRENGTH, to realize in what is “ordinary” PURPOSE, the “challenge” to RIDE, as Picasso demonstrates VISION'
14 June Tuila Jost from Rio de Janeiro wrote: 'Hi I would like to know the original measurements of the Blue boy board and where it is. Thank you.'
30 May Gregg S from Oakland, CA wrote: 'This is a very poor example of this lithograph. Every litho is somewhat different by the very nature of the process. But this one is missing a great deal of background ink all around the image, especially near the bottom that the horses legs blend into.'
11 May Christopher from Portland wrote: 'Do people think they are original with the 8 years old comments? That is such an old joke, and so stupid. Perhaps your mind is that of an 8 year old if you can't see the beauty and genius of Picasso. Please go back to watching TV. This art is not for you.'
01 May Austral from Leighton Buzzard wrote: 'I don't understand those who say they "don't understand the hype". Surely this is a page about Picasso, so if you don't like him, don't come here??... I'll be honest, five years ago I didn't really enjoy Picasso as much as I do now. He is not everyone's cup of tea, especially his avant garde work, but when you look at his hole body of work, I can't help but be impressed. He had such a wide range of styles and was quite successful in most of them. Granted he was an arrogant man and I'm not a fan of his personality, but I don't think he'd much care what we think. I just hope if there's an afterlife, Henri Rosseau is having his own back. :-)'
28 March Max Topfer from Germany wrote: 'It's Josep Fondervila, owner of the Inn in Gosol, Spain. Picasso spent 2 weeks and gained new inspiration, ended his blue and rose period'
14 March cr33p3r from Germany wrote: 'guys whats the meaning behind this painting I need to know for an art project at school'
10 March Prof. da Costa from Philadelphia wrote: 'for all of you inspired and maybe a bit intimidated by Picasso, if you wish to paint, paint (lots of online and free websites) and if not, don't be intimidated. You can appreciate his work and/or someday will have the strength to wake up and sketch or doodle or copy the works of the master. It's all good. At least you got up to see this website.I used to not appreciate Picasso until I read more about him. Sure, he was a misogynist but his life's work is amazing. I started out at age 18 months drawing circles with dots in the middle under the curtains and now am pretty prolific and inspired and I'm turning 70 this month.'
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