The Frugal Meal

Picasso made The Frugal Meal in September 1904, at the end of his Blue Period, during his last months in the ramshackle Paris studio building known as the Bateau-Lavoir. He was 23 years old, living in poverty, and producing the work that would establish him as the most talented young painter in Paris. The Frugal Meal is one of the most important prints of the 20th century, and it is the first print Picasso made on a large scale. The etching shows a blind man, a woman, and a child seated at a table. The blind man eats from a bowl, his eyes closed, his face gaunt. The woman sits beside him, her head bowed, her hand on his shoulder. The child is barely visible at the right edge. The table is bare, with only a bowl, a jug, and a piece of bread. The figures are drawn with long, thin lines that emphasize their emaciation and their isolation. The Frugal Meal was made at the transition between Picasso's Blue Period and his Rose Period. The subject matter is pure Blue Period: the blind, the poor, the hungry, the marginalized. But the technique is more refined than his earlier work, with the figures drawn in careful, controlled lines rather than painted in the thick, expressive strokes of his Blue Period paintings. The etching was printed in 1913 by the printer Louis Fort, in an edition of about 30, and it was published by the dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler. Picasso had been making prints since 1899, but The Frugal Meal was his first major etching. He made it on a zinc plate, using a combination of etching and drypoint, and he drew the figures directly on the plate without preparatory studies. The composition was influenced by the prints of Francisco Goya, especially the Disasters of War series, which Picasso had studied at the Prado during his visits to Madrid. Etching and drypoint on paper, 46 by 37 centimeters. Picasso drew the figures in long, flowing lines, with the blind man built in thin, parallel strokes that describe his gaunt body. The table and the food are drawn in a few quick lines, with the objects barely indicated. The background is left blank, with the figures emerging from the white of the paper. The print has the spare, austere quality of a drawing made with no waste. The vertical format and muted palette make this print work well in a study, bedroom, or hallway. The blacks, grays, and whites pair with white walls, dark wood, and rooms with a serious or artistic mood. The 11x14 or 16x20 size is the best choice, as the original is a print with fine detail. The work has a somber, intimate quality that suits rooms with a quiet or contemplative mood. The print entered the Cleveland Museum of Art as a gift from Leonard C. Hanna Jr. This is a CC0 artwork from the Cleveland Museum of Art. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 18x24 inches, framed or unframed.