Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso painted Girl Before A Mirror in March of 1932. Unlike The Old Guitarist, this painting is a part of Picasso's cubism period. The girl featured in the painting is Marie Therese Walter, who was a mistress of Picasso. She is featured in a number of Picasso's paintings. Seeing as that the subject of the painting is secret lover, some critics consider Girl Before a Mirror to be "erotic."

Mirror is a bright and bold painting. Picasso included a background usually used to enhance the main focus on the image but decided to make just as important and eye-catching. The diamond pattern of the backdrop is similar to the costume of the Harlequin, a comical clown character featured in the Italian Commedia dell'arte, a form of theater in Italy during the 16th-century.

Picasso painted The Old Guitarist in 1903 following the suicide of his best friend, Casagemas. Because of his friend's death, Picasso became more sensitive and sympathetic towards the hardships of the ill-treated. He started to paint pictures portraying the sick, the miseries of being poor, and the ostracized. Seeing as he had been less fortunate the prior year, Picasso found that he had an easy time portraying his ideas and thoughts.

The Old Guitarist  was a part of Picasso's Blue Period.