oldmasters

The absinthe drinker (1901) Pablo Picasso.

1/ The absinthe drink was popularized in Paris by soldiers returning from colonial campaigns in Algeria. At the end of the 19th century it had become strong in the cafes of the already hallucinatory and amazing French belle époque.  Every day, at five in the afternoon ⬇️

Portrait of Ángel Fernández de Soto (1903) Pablo Picasso

2/ Every day, at five in the afternoon, the green hour brought together absinthe drinkers in search of inspiration, salvation or consolation. Among whom Pablo Picasso, an occasional absinthe drinker, saw people as blue and painted them that way… ⬇️

Biologist & art lover. I think human beings are societies of cells (hubasoc). Time perception is the pace of operation of our cellular society. Visit /timecast 

Absinthe Girl In A Cafe (1901) 
Pablo Picasso 

3/ And then Picasso saw the pink people and that’s how he will paint them. And then he saw people strangely, as if decomposed into strange planes or geometric figures and also in this way he painted them.  The mythical drink created visions and dream states… ⬇️

The absinthe drinker (1901)
Pablo Picasso

4/ Was absinthe the great creative engine that shaped symbolism, surrealism, modernism, impressionism, post-impressionism and cubism in Manet, Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso and many others?

“Absinthe Glasses” (1914) Picasso
5/Picasso sculpted the glass in wax and an edition of six identical glasses were casted in bronze. Each glass incorpores one real absinthe spoon and a fake sugar cube. Picasso gave each sculpture a unique finish, using paint and sand. In 1915 absinthe was forbidden in France ⏹️