What subjects did Pablo Picasso paint during his Blue Period?

During his Blue Period (1901–1904), Pablo Picasso focused on melancholic themes that explored poverty, human suffering, and mortality.12

His subjects included:

• Marginalized individuals: He frequently depicted street people from Barcelona, such as lonely or blind beggars and castaways.1
• Prisoners: Inspired by visits to the Women’s Prison of Saint-Lazare in Paris, he painted inmates and their children.1
• Maternity: The subject of mothers with nursing children was a significant preoccupation during this time.1
• General themes of despair: His work often served as an evocation of death, grief, and the lives of the stricken.2

Notable examples of these subjects include The Soup (1902), Crouching Woman (1902), Blind Man’s Meal (1903), Old Jew and a Boy (1903), and The Old Guitarist (1903–1904). These works allowed Picasso to express traditional art-historical subjects through a modern, 20th-century lens.13