Are you feeling blue or do you see the world through rose-colored glasses?

Color is a very important element of art.  It gives meaning and influences the mood of a painting.  When we look at a painting, the colors are often the first thing we notice.

Picasso is a great example of an artist who used color to create mood and meaning in his paintings. 
We can see this in his two distinct periods: the Blue Period and the Rose Period.

Picasso's Blue Period

Picasso's Blue Period dates from 1901 to 1904.  This painting, The Old Guitarist, is a good example of his style during this time.  This painting is almost monochromatic - the artist used different shades of one color: blue.

Blue is a cool color and gives the painting a somber, almost sad feeling.  Many people believe Picasso started painting in blue after the death of his friend and that during his Blue Period the artist suffered from depression.

How does the color influence the mood and meaning of this painting? 
How does it make you feel?
What other elements contribute to the mood of this painting?

Picasso's Rose Period

Picasso's Blue Period was followed by his Rose Period.  During the Rose Period, Picasso changed to much warmer colors, mostly pink.  The subjects of his paintings also changed.  It is also said that Picasso's life started to get better during this time.

This is a good example of the Rose Period style.  It is a painting of an actor.  You can see that Picasso uses different tones of pink in this painting. 

How does this influence the mood of the painting?
How does this painting compare to the example from the Blue Period?

Color idioms

There are many idioms and phrases in English that show the relationship between color and mood.  Here are some examples.

- To feel blue: to be sad, depressed
- To see the world in rose-colored glasses: to be very positive, optimistic
- To show your true colors: to show someone who you really are
- To be green with envy: to be jealous
- To be tickled pink: to be very pleased, delighted
- To see red: to be extremely angry
- To be as white as a sheet / white as a ghost: to be very scared, frightened

 Are any of these similar to expressions in your native language?  

Can you think of any other paintings that have strong colors?  How do these colors affect the mood?