1914 Homme au chapeau jouant de la guitare * Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Period of creation: 1908-1918

The drawing presents a figure engaged in playing a guitar, rendered through a fractured and fragmented visual language. The subject is composed of geometric planes and angular forms, disrupting traditional notions of perspective and spatial representation. A dominant yellow background saturates the composition, creating an almost oppressive atmosphere that isolates the figure.
Here we see the man’s face depicted as a collection of sharp angles and flattened features. His eyes are disproportionately large, one appearing particularly prominent and intensely focused. The beard is similarly abstracted into angular shapes, contributing to a sense of unsettling intensity. The hat, positioned atop his head, echoes the geometric fragmentation of the rest of the figure, further dissolving any sense of naturalism.
The guitar itself is not presented as a recognizable instrument but rather as another element within the fractured composition. Its form is similarly broken down into planes and lines, integrated with the man’s body in a way that blurs the boundaries between subject and object. The hands are rendered with an emphasis on their angularity and mechanical appearance, suggesting a detached or impersonal interaction with the instrument.
The subtexts within this drawing seem to explore themes of alienation and fragmentation. The disjointed forms and flattened perspective suggest a breakdown of traditional values and perceptions. The intense gaze of the figure could be interpreted as a symbol of introspection or even despair. The monochromatic color scheme, dominated by yellow, amplifies the sense of isolation and psychological tension.
The drawing’s overall effect is one of unsettling ambiguity. It resists easy interpretation, inviting viewers to confront the complexities of human experience through a lens of fractured reality. The artist seems less interested in depicting a literal representation of a man playing guitar than in exploring the underlying anxieties and uncertainties of a rapidly changing world.