Who Was Pablo Picasso?

Who Was Pablo Picasso?

Pablo Picasso was a Spanish artist who captured the world in the 20th century for his bold experimentation. Known best for building the style known as cubism, he continues to influence artists years after his death.

Early Life

Pablo Picasso was born to Doña Maria Picasso y Lopez and Don José Ruiz Blasco on October 25, 1881, in Málaga, Spain. Similar to many geniuses, he demonstrated talent while he was still very young. He started out first making drawings. His father, an art teacher and painter himself, recognized that Picasso's interest in imagery needed cultivation, so he set about giving the boy a proper education in both drawing and painting. Picasso caught on quickly, and by the time he was a teenager, he was producing works that rivaled his father's in quality and imagination. During this time, he was not a particularly good student, being obsessed with doodling and sketching instead of doing his coursework.

When Picasso was 14, he and his family moved to Barcelona. While there, he had the good fortune to be accepted into the Barcelona School of Fine Arts, but once again, he rebelled against the facilities requirements and would often go AWOL to draw his own images of the area. His next educational move was to Madrid, where he attended the Royal Academy of San Fernando. His habits in Madrid were little better than when he lived in Barcelona, and his problems at the academy stemmed from both boredom and the fact his teachers could not help him solve some fundamental artistic issues he had.

Just before the turn of the century in 1899, Picasso left Madrid to return to Barcelona. Upon his return, he finally met some friends who kept him intellectually and artistically stimulated. His experiences with this crowd compelled him to finally break away from traditional art methods, allowing him to move at last into a style that was uniquely his own.

Early Career

Determined to make a name for himself and throw himself into the heart of art culture, Picasso decided to move to Paris, France. Life threw him a blow, however, in the loss of his friend, Carlos Casagemas. Darkly inspired by this loss, Picasso began painting scenes of pain and isolation, marked by a distinct overtone of blue. The coloring of his portraits has led experts to classify this time as Picasso's blue period.

Eventually, Picasso began to arise out of his depression. His tones became lighter as patrons at finally started to notice his work and to provide some financial support. This became known as his rose period, during which reportedly was unabashedly in love with Fernande Olivier. His inspiration continued to come largely from what he saw around him, but he increasingly toyed with new ways of expressing himself.

Middle Career

Picasso's first big distinguishing break came in 1907. In that year, he painted five nude prostitutes in a work that became known as Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. This portrait was not especially compelling because of its subject--other artists had done nudes and even nude prostitutes before. What made it significant was the stark, geometric approach Picasso took to their bodies and faces. This technique set the stage for the style of art known as cubism, in which objects are taken apart and then abstractly put back together based on their general shapes. The new technique was pushed even further along by the work of painter Georges Braque, with whom Picasso had a good friendship. Reception to cubism was initially very mixed and controversial, but from this point forward, Picasso was no longer simply an artist, bu tthe artist, pushing aside barriers for artists all over the world.

Despite Picasso's success, life once again directed his art to the extreme with the start of World War I. The harshness of this time brought Picasso into a more grounded view, and for roughly ten years, he abandoned his extreme experimentation and moved back into a more classical style. Around 1927, he became a leader in surrealism, which focused on allowing the subconscious to come to the surface in an uninterrupted way, combining unusual and sometimes even absurd elements.

Later Life

Having lived through not one, but two, world wars, Picasso could not help but let politics color his art to some degree. He became an active communist. Although he continued to paint prolifically, his approach became more childlike and crude. Although some experts criticize his later works because they do not appear to be as flamboyant as his earlier ones, others praise what he accomplished during his later years, finding the beauty in the deeper simplicity of what he produced. He passed away in Mougins, France on April 8, 1971 at age 91.

Quick Fun Facts:

. Picasso's full name is Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso.
. Picasso was painting by the time he was only 8 years old.
. Both Picasso's father and mother were upset that he decided to pursue a more avant-garde artistic approach.
. Picasso got a start in his career drawing for magazines.
. Picasso was known to have a serious penchant for female company. He married twice, once to Olga Khokhlova in 1918, and once to Jacqueline Roque in 1961. His romantic affairs were both scandalized and numerous, including relationships with artist Dora Maar and Françoise Gilot.
. Picasso fathered four children: Paloma, Maya, Claude and Paul.
. Experts note that Picasso was the master of artistic chameleonism. He was known for his ability to adapt, and it was not unheard of for him to use more than one style within the same work.
. Picasso's fame helped protect him even as he supported the murderous Joseph Stalin.
. Picasso's most famous works include Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, The Three Musicians, Guernica, Blue Nude, La Vie, The Old Guitarist, Family at Saltimbanques, Two Nudes, Three Women, Bread and Fruit Dish on a Table, Girl with Mandolin, Still Life with Chair Caning, Card Player, Three Musicians, Three Women at the Spring, Two Women Running on the Beach/The Race, and The Pipes of Pan.