1904
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Frugal Meal is a 1904 by Pablo Picasso, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A thin man and woman sit at a bare table with a single loaf of bread. The man’s eyes are closed, his face turned away. The woman looks straight ahead, her hand resting on his shoulder. Picasso made this print in 1904, during his Blue Period. He often showed people society ignored—beggars, performers, the blind. The cool blues make the scene feel quiet and lonely, like a moment frozen in time. To see more of this style, look up Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973).
In this early print, Pablo Picasso depicted a couple—possibly two performers—sitting before a meager meal. Although the woman gazes forward directly, her male companion's unfocused stare suggests his blindness. This subject was one that Picasso explored during his Blue Period (1901–4), a stage of his career when he used a predominantly cool palette to depict figures marginalized by society.
To create this print, Pablo Picasso recycled a zinc plate previously used by a friend.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter and sculptor who spent most of his adult life in France.
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