Old blind man with boy 1903

Picasso painted this piece, "Old Blind Man with Boy," sometime during his Blue Period using oil on canvas. It's hard to miss how the almost monochromatic blue palette totally dominates, a color scheme that’s like a mood ring set to melancholy. There’s something so raw about the texture here; you can almost feel the brushstrokes. Picasso doesn't try to hide the hand in the work. Look closely at the old man’s hands and feet. See how they’re exaggerated, almost skeletal? It's as if Picasso wants us to feel the physical toll of poverty and blindness. The blue isn’t just a color, it’s the air they breathe, the cloak of their despair, maybe even the chill of their hunger. The image and subject matter reminds me of Kathe Kollwitz, who also had a knack for turning suffering into something monumental. Both artists seem to say that art isn’t just about beauty, it’s about bearing witness.