Pablo Picasso
A History
Pablo Ruiz y Picasso b. Malaga, Spain, Oct. 25, 1881, d. Apr. 8, 1973, was the most influential and successful artist of the 20th century. Painting, sculpture, graphic art, and ceramics were all profoundly and irrevocably affected by his genius.As the son of a professor of art, Picasso's talent for drawing was recognized at an early age. An advanced student at the Barcelona Academy of Fine Arts from the age of 14, he experimented in his youth with nearly all of the avant-garde styles current at the turn of the century, an early demonstration of his lifelong ability to assimilate aesthetic ideas and to work in a variety of styles. For Picasso, the meaning of art was to be derived from other works of art, and not directly from nature.
Early Work
Influences
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's work had a significant impact on his early paintings, as did the work of Paul Cézanne. Their influence, among others', can be detected in the paintings of Picasso's "blue period" (1901-04), which was stimulated by his exposure to life and thought in Paris, where he made his home after 1904.
Top picture: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Bottom picture: Paul Cezanne
The Blue Period
In works such as The Old Guitarist (1903; Art Institute, Chicago) he created evocative portrayals of blind, impoverished, or despairing people in a predominantly blue palette. His use of blue as a motif was apparently derived from the symbolic importance of that color in the contemporary romantic writings of Maurice Maeterlinck and Oscar Wilde, whose work often derived its force from depictions of madness or illness.
The years from 1901-1904, were known as Picasso's Blue Period. These were difficult years for him personally. Picasso was very poor at this time. He often didn't have enough money to buy oil paints and canvas to do his painting. Also, he was very sad and depressed due to the death of his good friend, Carlos Casagemas. Carlos committed suicide because of a broken heart after the loss of a love.
During this time, Picasso's paintings and sketches were mostly done in shades of blue, and he often painted subjects that were very needy, lonely, and unhappy. The mood of his paintings and sketches during this period were gloomy and showed strong emotions. His subjects included blind beggars, drunks, and women from a prison in Paris as his models
The Rose Period
Picasso's Rose Period began in the year 1904, and lasted until the year 1906. He was about 24 years old when he went to France. This Rose Period started when he met Ferande Oliver, the first of many companions to effect the theme, style, and mood of his work. During this time the colors in his paintings became brighter and warmer, and the moods become happier. He often used the colors pink and red. During his rose period Picasso often painted subjects.
The Black Period
Pablo Picasso's black period, also known as époque négre or negro period, refers to the years 1906 and 1907, in which Picasso falls under the influence of African art, on which he bases a series of drawings, paintings and woodcarvings that would lead to the creation of his seminal work Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.
CuBiSm
The Cubist movement in painting was developed by Picasso and Braque around 1907 and became a major influence on Western art. The artists chose to break down the subjects they were painting into a number of facets, showing several different aspects of one object simultaneously. The work up to 1912 is known as Analytical Cubism, concentrating on geometrical forms using subdued colors. The second phase, known as Synthetic Cubism, used more decorative shapes, stencilling, collage, and brighter colors. It was then that artists such as Picasso and Braque started to use pieces of cut-up newspaper in their paintings.
Picasso's Later Years
In his 80s and 90s, the painter became increasingly reclusive and devoted his full energies to work - which became even more daring, colorful and expressive.
Between 1968-1971, he produced a torrent of paintings and hundreds of copperplate engravings.
Pablo Picasso died at Mougins, France on 8 April 1973.
Leaving no will, his death duties to the French state were paid in the form of his works - the core of a collection at the Musée Picasso in Paris.
Quotes by Pablo Picasso
-Are we to paint what's on the face, what's inside the face, or what's behind it? All children are artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
-If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes.