Learning Specialist, Emma Waldman: Looking at this piece for the first time, I immediately am drawn to the guitar, music notes, and then when I look at the title, I see that it's called Three Musicians. I wonder, who are these three musicians?
Curator, Anne Umland: They're wearing masks, they're wearing costumes. I think Picasso wants us to be able to imagine many different identities for them. One thing they could be, though, is a representation of Picasso himself and some of his friends.
Emma Waldman: Let's look a little bit closer at these figures.
Anne Umland: The costumes themselves are significant. They're connected to an old Italian theater tradition, known as commedia dell'arte, with set characters who are identifiable by their costumes and their attributes.
The figure on the left is dressed in a white costume. That identifies him as the figure of Pierrot, who often wore a mask to hide his emotions.
Emma Waldman: This figure represents Picasso's friend Guillaume Apollinaire, who is known for his playfulness, humor, and sensitivity.
Anne Umland: The figure on the right is wearing a black robe, like a Benedictine monk. Picasso had a poet friend named Max Jacob. Right before Picasso painted this picture, his friend had decided to move into a monastery and to retreat from the world.
The center figure [is] wearing a diamond pattern costume that identifies this figure with the character of Harlequin, a trickster figure—someone who likes to break the rules. In fact, it was a figure that Picasso identified with, so it is possible that center figure is a stand-in for Picasso himself.
Emma Waldman: Did you know there's actually a fourth character in the painting?
Anne Umland: Look over to the left. What do you start to see? There are three furry legs and a little furry tail. You can see the tail in between the legs of the figure in the red and yellow diamond-patterned costume. It made me realize: Picasso has put a dog under the table, which just always makes me laugh so much.
Emma Waldman: Imagine a painting of you and your friends. What characters would you dress up as?