‘Another One Bites the Dust’ displays artworks by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and German painter Edvard Munch. The works showcased in this gallery highlights themes such as death and the fragility of Man.
The phrase ‘bite the dust’ is often used to describe the loss of a life. While the works presented in this gallery are more somber and dark, it reminds us about the frailness of our lives and the ultimatum that all of us will have to face one day. |
Pablo Picasso Casagemas in his Coffin, 1901 Oil on canvas On February 17, 1901, a young and troubled artist named Carles Casagemas fired a gun at his girlfriend before taking his own life. Miles away, 19-year-old Pablo Picasso was informed of the death of Casagemas. The two men were best friends. Consumed by grief and guilt for not being able to save his friend, Picasso turned to painting to express his intense mourning over his friend’s death. The four paintings that depict Casagemas’s suicide will later be known as Picasso’s Blue Period, where Picasso made use of the Expressionist style and shades of blue to create his artworks. Casegemas in his Coffin focuses on the immediate aftermath of Casagemas’s suicide and show the young man in his coffin, the bullet wound visible on his right temple. Picasso created this painting from his imagination since he had not been there during his friend’s death. This seems to be a way for Picasso to come to terms with the death of his friend, to stare at the dead body, to confront the reality that Casagemas is truly gone. |
Edvard Munch By the Death Bed, 1896 Oil on canvas During the time Munch painted By the Death Bed, everyday life in society, along with its darker sides, were preferred over the more idealised depictions of people and landscapes of Romanticism. Illness and disease were rampant during the 19th century, and most families were affected one way or another. By painting death-related motifs, Munch explores the reality of life and the idea of death. By the Death Bed is one of Munch's more disturbing and somber Expressionist works. By looking at the painting, one might feel anxious and even uncomfortable. The pale faces, black suits, candles and dark colours are used to represent the grief and mourning of the people, and one can feel the raw emotion pouring out of the painting. Perhaps the most disturbing part of the painting is the woman standing at the back of the room, staring straight at the viewer, as if saying, “Death will come for you too, sooner or later". |
References
EdvardMunch.org. (n.d.). By the death bed, 1896 by Edvard Munch. Retrieved from https://www.edvardmunch.org/by-the-death-bed.jsp
Ekphora. The devastating loss that inspired Picasso's blue period [Web log message]. (2016, August). Retrieved from http://ekphora.blogspot.sg/2016/08/the-devastating-loss-that-inspired.html
Munch, E. (1896). By the death bed [Painting]. Retrieved from http://www.dailyartdaily.com/edvard-munch-and-death/
Picasso, P. (1901). Casegemas in his coffin [Painting]. Retrieved from http://ekphora.blogspot.sg/2016/08/the-devastating-loss-that-inspired.html
EdvardMunch.org. (n.d.). By the death bed, 1896 by Edvard Munch. Retrieved from https://www.edvardmunch.org/by-the-death-bed.jsp
Ekphora. The devastating loss that inspired Picasso's blue period [Web log message]. (2016, August). Retrieved from http://ekphora.blogspot.sg/2016/08/the-devastating-loss-that-inspired.html
Munch, E. (1896). By the death bed [Painting]. Retrieved from http://www.dailyartdaily.com/edvard-munch-and-death/
Picasso, P. (1901). Casegemas in his coffin [Painting]. Retrieved from http://ekphora.blogspot.sg/2016/08/the-devastating-loss-that-inspired.html