Monday, January 3, 2011

Picasso and Paul McCartney


Pablo Picasso, The Old Guitarist, 1903

Did you know that a Picasso painting helped to inspire a Paul McCartney song? Today my little brother sent me this short clip of Paul explaining when/where/why he came up with the idea for the "Two Fingers" song:


I'm pretty sure, though, that Picasso didn't have a specific chord in mind when he painted The Old Guitarist. In fact, it has already been discussed how Picasso's lack of musical training is evident in his other depictions of musicians (for example, instances in which violinists hold their instruments with the wrong hand, as is seen in his Three Musicians (1921, PMA version)). Nonetheless, it's fun to know that Picasso had a little influence on Paul.