Pablo Picasso: The Accordionist

Pablo Picasso developed a new art style called cubism from 1907 to 1914 which is widely regarded as the most innovative and influential artistic style of the 20th century. The style includes the division of three-dimensional forms into a two-dimensional plane. The Accordionist is one the paintings painted by Picasso that truly captures the essence of cubism. As the title states, the painting is meant to portray a man playing an accordion.

The Accordionist by Pablo Picasso

Despite painting's goal to depict a man playing an Accordionist, it is a painting on the verge on complete abstraction. The monochromatic shade and effect further camouflages the subject. Surfaces are broken into sharply defined planes but are not yet complexly fragmented; forms still retain an illusion of volume; and perspective, though dramatically shortened, is not obliterated. At its climax, Picasso bought this painting almost to the point of complete abstraction but mercifully left a line of vague distinction enough to see the subject. This was the true beauty of his cubist paintings. Even though on the verge of abstraction, if seen carefully one could see the subject matter clearly. It was almost as if Picasso was trying to judge the beholder's ability to see the true art in his paintings instead of just mere shapes and shades. The Accordionist is 51.25 inches tall and 35.25 inches wide, painted in oil on canvas. The composition consists of a multitude of geometric shapes of various sizes and content. The shapes most densely populate the middle of the painting. Since there is no obvious subject, this composition leads the viewer’s eye around the painting in an attempt to decipher the content. Also focused toward the center of the painting are the dark colors, which aid in drawing the viewer in to explore the painting. Picasso utilized the drab, muted tones in order to place the emphasis on the subject. Picasso’s dull palette also lends itself well to the piecing together of the different perspectives of the same subject. With diligence, one can distinguish the general outlines of the seated accordionist, denoted by a series of shifting vertically aligned triangular planes, semicircular shapes, and right angles; the centrally located folds of the accordion and its keys; and, in the lower portion of the canvas, the volutes of an armchair. But Picasso’s elusive references to recognizable forms and objects cannot always be precisely identified and, as the Museum of Modern Art’s founding director Alfred H. Barr, Jr. observed, “the mysterious tension between painted image and ‘reality’ remains.” This tension between what our eyes perceive and what they should perceive is what truly makes this painting one of the greatest ever. It is a work of art that truly tests the vision of another artist.