Pablo Picasso's tragic and poignant "Old Guitarist" was created during his Blue Period (1901 - 1904), after a close friend's suicide plunged him into a deep depression. Only 20 years of age at the time, his already vast emotional range profoundly spoke through the painting's somber tones and expressive contours. An artistic genius, Picasso (1881-1973) is one of the creators of Cubism, and he dominated the development of the visual arts during the first half of the twentieth century. Picasso's body of work is so extensive that it included an estimated 20,000 paintings, prints, drawings, and sculptures.