#roseperiod

Picasso is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He is mostly known for co-founding the cubist movement. He was introduced to many new experiments to broaden his creativity during his rise to fame in the epicentre of the golden age, one of these experiments to explore his creative processes was opium.

When discussing his rose period (1904-1906), the artist used to refer to his times in the studio with his friends, passing around the bamboo opium filled pipe. He discusses using opium to get out of his creative blocks. The acid aroma that filled the room was once referred by Picasso as “the most intelligent of all odors”. (Blum and Blum, 2007)

This opium circle led to Picasso’s interest in African sculpture which was the inspiration for his traditional African masks, a frequent theme that the Spanish artist famously included in his work.

Picasso quickly became an aficionado during this time, he began smoking opium several times a week between 1904 and 1908, using it as a creative tool. It could be argued that the influence of the opium narcotic is noticeable within paintings during Picasso’s Rose Period.

During this period, his vision most likely would have been affected by the use of these drugs (opium and hash) which altered his mindset and moods. Therefore, this most likely had affected things like his artistic perception and thought process, as well as things such as mood swings and his overall mindset.

We can see the influence of opium in The Family of Saltimbanques in the figures' weary faces that have little to no expressions, the faces and body language of the figures can be seen as dreary and almost hypnotic.

The artist's drug induced perception of his artworks can also be seen in Acrobat and Young Harlequin with the blank faces and blue and rose colour palette. A palette most used during this artistic period which shows Picasso’s opi-narcotic artistic view on his paintings. Picasso painted The Family of the Saltimbanques in a poorly lit room with his often drug induced friends viewing it from the side of the stage. With his intoxicated friends watching him create his work through nothing but a candlelight, this arguably could be the “creation of voyeurism – exhibitionism of a primal scene.” (Blum and Blum, 2007)

Due to the drug's side effect of feeling like time is slipping away while under the influence, the artist discovered he wanted to create a new style. One that “add the dimension of time to the spatial dimensions of painting, and to depict figures in motion from many angles simultaneously”.(Blum and Blum, 2007) With this new style and the artists narcotic epiphanies, art critics named this new geometric abstraction style, cubism. We can clearly see the combination of the artist's new unique style and the inspiration from his opium induced brain in Les demoiselles d'avignon, with the blank faces and slouch like body language of the figures.