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Pablo Picasso Biography |
Pablo Picasso, perhaps the most widely recognized
artist of the 20th century, was born to Don José Ruiz Blasco
and Doña Maria Picasso y Lopez in Malaga, Spain on October
25, 1881. Ultimately, he would adopt his mother’s more prestigious
maiden name, Picasso. Pablo Picasso’s father was a trained artist
and art teacher, and was an early influence in Picasso’s art
training. By the time Pablo Picasso was 13, his painting was so accomplished
that his father handed him his palette and declared he would never
paint again. |
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Early Work and Instruction (1893-1900)
Picasso’s talent was quickly recognized as a young teen and
he was enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Barcelona, Spain where
his father was a professor. He was admitted to the advanced classes
at the academy after he completed an entrance examination in a single
day – an accomplishment that typically took seasoned students
a month. Within a couple of years, he left for Madrid to study at
the Madrid Academy, but returned unsatisfied with the training. It
is reported that his early years resulted in over 2,200 works that
are still saved and shown at the Barcelona Museu Picasso.
Picasso would visit Paris in October, 1900, and would move back and
forth between Spain and France until 1904, when he finally settled
in France. He started to experiment with a wide variety of modern
art styles, influenced by the French nightlife and artist Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec. He painted café scenes, landscapes and still
lifes of friends. |
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Picasso
Blue Period (1901-1903)
The years of 1901-1903 defined the Picasso
Blue Period, a clear break from his
more formal art instruction. Unlike his earlier artwork, the themes
in Picasso’s paintings turned very dark and depressed. Although
it is unknown when or why the Blue Period began, certainly the suicide
of his friend Casagemas impacted Picasso greatly.
Artwork during the Blue Period was typically painted in a monochromatic
use of blue shading, greys and whites. Unlike previous paintings,
subjects were portrayed as sad, poor and underprivaledged. |
The
Picasso Blue Period is highlighted by some of Picasso’s most
recognized pieces of art - Child
with a Dove, The Blue Nude
and The Old Guitarist
were all completed during this time period. It will become the first
of many distinct genres that Picasso will ultimately define.
Rose Period (1904-1905)
The Picasso Rose Period, sometimes referred to as
the circus period, marked a distinct style shift in his art. His focus
was mainly on a different group of social outcasts – circus
performers. The color in his paintings also shifted – now featuring
warmer, reddish and pink colors. The thick outlines of the Blue Period
also disappeared.
Similar to themes in his earlier Blue Period artwork, Picasso felt
empathy for his new subjects – circus performers. They were
paid to entertain, but really had no relevance or significance in
society. The sad clown would become an important figure in his paintings,
and would continue to appear as a theme in future pieces. Clowns appeared
happy on the outside, but were unable to show their true feelings.
This period also marked Picasso’s first of many romantic relationships.
Fernande Olivier provided a subject for Picasso’s artwork and
her features could be found in many of his paintings.
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Cubism
(1908-1917)
Cubism was
developed as a collaborative effort by Pablo Picasso and George Braque.
Although its roots are not positively known, many believe it has influence
from African Tribal Art and Paul Cezanne. Cubism was considered the
most radical change in art in the 20th century. |
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The
movement was divided into two periods - Analytical Cubism
and Synthetic Cubism. Analytical Cubism concentrated on using
geometric forms, often using strait lines and right angles. Subdued
colors such as tans, browns, grays, blues and greens were preferred.
Overall, it showed a structured "analysis" of form. Synthetic Cubism,
the second period, used more decorative shapes, stencilling, collage,
and brighter colors. Pieces of cut-up newspaper and tobacco wrappers
could now be found in Picasso and Braque’s paintings. This collage
technique was posed the question of what was reality vs. illusion.
Picasso also meets Olga Koklova, a russian dancer who he ultimately
marries in 1918. Olga becomes the mother of his son, Pualo and is
the centerpiece of many of Picasso's paintings.
Many art historians believe Picasso's
greatest Cubist masterpiece was The
Three Musicians, completed in 1921.
Classical Period (1920 - 1925)
Post World War I marked a noted return to a more conservative art
form. During the time period, Picasso focused on more classical themes
- bathers, centaurs and women in classical drapery. Many of these
subjects were shown as massive, heavy and dense. He also used a strong
contrast of light and dark to help strengthen the theme of his images.
Cubism and Surrealism (1925-1936)
The period of 1925 – 1936 was a time where Picasso featured
a variety of styles. Some paintings were composed of tightly structured
geometric shapes, limited to the primary colors of red, blue and yellow.
He also started painting women as contorted, whose open mouths and
teeth reveal a very emotional attitude.
Picasso also focused on a series of paintings of mostly nude women,
tranquilly asleep. The model for the paintings, Marie-Therese (at
the time Picasso's mistress), eventually became the mother of Picasso's
daughter Maia in 1935.
In the early 1930s Picasso had increasing contact with the members
of the surrealist movement. He became fascinated with the idea of
metamorphosis. The Minotaur – a creature which has the head
of a man and the body of a bull, was the subject of many paintings
and writings. The Minotaur has numerous incarnations in Picasso's
work, both as an aggressor and a victim, as a violent character and
a friendly one. It may represent the artist himself and frequently
appears in the context of a bullfight, a typically Spanish scene close
to Picasso's heart.
In 1936, Picasso met a new mistress in a cafe in Paris. Dora Maar,
born Markovitch to a Yugoslav mother and father, was raised in Argentina.
Picasso often called Dora Maar “the Weeping Woman”, which
many of his paintings depict at the time.
Overall, the time period produced several Picasso masterpieces, including
The Dream, Still
Life with Pedestal Table, and Dora
Maar. |
Guernica
(1937)
Guernica, painted
by Pablo Picasso, was created to be the mural centerpiece of the Spanish
Pavilion of the 1937 World's Fair in Spain. The piece is a striking
protest of a fascist coup led by Francisco Franco, the driving force
behind a massive Civil War between Franco and Spain's Republican forces.
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On a dark day in April, 1937, on behalf
of Franco against the Spanish population, Nazi armed forces chose
a small Basque town in northern Spain for massive bomb tests for over
three hours. It is estimated that over 1,600 people are killed in
Guernica and the town burns for three days. As photographs and news
of the bombing of Guernica reach his home in Paris, Picasso finds
immediate inspiration for his mural.
Picasso delivered Guernica just three months later on a large canvas.
Key elements include a woman holding her dead child, a large eye of
God, a bull and a wounded horse. Clearly, it depicts struggle and
the horrors of war and fighting.
World War II (1939-1945)
Picasso chose to stay in Paris during World War II, despite the threat
of the German occupation. Some of his paintings reveal the anxiety
of the war years, yet some are more playful and whimsical. After receiving
news of the Nazi death camps, Picasso painted, but did not finish,
an homage to the victims of the Holocaust. The painting, called the
Charnel House, he restricted the color to black and white and depicted
an accumulation of distorted, mangled bodies. Picasso actually joined
the Communist Party during the war and attended several peace conferences
after the war.
Picasso's Late Works (1945-1973)
Picasso remained a prolific artist until late in his life,
although this later period has not received universal acclaim from
historians or critics. He made variations on motifs that had fascinated
him throughout his career, such as the bullfight and the painter and
his model, the latter a theme that celebrated creativity. And he continued
to paint portraits and landscapes. Picasso also experimented with
ceramics, creating figurines, plates, and jugs, and he thereby blurred
an existing distinction between fine art and craft.
Because of his many innovations, Picasso is widely considered
to be the most influential artist of the 20th century. The cubist
movement, which he and Braque inspired, had a number of followers.
Its innovations gave rise to a host of other 20th-century art movements,
including futurism in Italy, suprematism and constructivism in Russia,
de Stijl in the Netherlands, and vorticism in England. Cubism also
influenced German expressionism, dada, and other movements as well
as early work of the surrealists and abstract expressionists. In addition,
collage and construction became key aspects of 20th-century art.
Information provided by: "Picasso,
Pablo Ruiz y," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2004, "Picasso",
Carsten-Peter Warncke, © 1997 |
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