Birth Year : 1881
Death Year : 1973
Country : Spain
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain. The son of a Basque art
teacher, Picasso showed a very early talent for drawing. He was fourteen
when the family moved to Barcelona where his father was a professor at
the School of Art. Two years later Picasso had his first exhibition of
rather somber, quite classical paintings. Between 1900 and 1904 he made
three trips to Paris where he studied the works of the Impressionists and
of Cezanne. In 1904 he settled in France,
where he has remained all his life. From 1901 onwards, Picasso's work may
be divided into periods, each showing different influences and personal
interests. From 1901 to 1904, the Blue Period, his paintings were melancholy
in mood and subject matter, flat of form and strong contour, nearly monochromatic,
and of intense blue. In some of these works, the Mannerist influence of
El Greco is easily visible. The Rose Period (1905-06) offers the same flat
forms but with a softer contour, a more romantic mood, and a delicate ink
tonality that is often used with the blue of the earlier works. In 1906
Picasso met Matisse, with whom he shared
an interest in the works of Gauguin and
Cezanne. At the time he also was influenced
by African primitive carvings, the result was the masterpiece Les Demoiselles
d'Avignon, a huge painting of five nudes and a small still life, angularly
distorted, with strong, barbaric forms that seem flat but are actually
so shaded as to be three-dimensional. Called Cubism by the critics, its
translucent, blocky planes led to the Analytical Cubism practiced by Braque
and Picasso from 1909 to 1911 in which familiar objects such as glasses
and pitchers were broken down into geometric planes. From about 1912 to
1915, the collage or paste-up method of Synthetic Cubism was developed
in which bits of cloth or paper were used to build up an image. From 1915
until 1936, Picasso painted in various Cubist manners, experimented with
Surrealism, and entered his classical (sometimes called white) period in
the early 1920's, producing works that are sculpturesque and yet tender
in mood. In the 1930's he was working in a Cubist style that is metamorphic
in its visual approach. The tragic masterpiece Guernica (1937) is painted
in this style. It is a work of monumental grandeur with a tragic, almost
vocal effect upon the viewer. The double portraits that first appeared
in 1938 are a further evolution of this metamorphic style. In 1948 Picasso
returned to themes of women, children, animals, and birds, painting in
various manners synthesizing all of his previous styles. He has also produced
lithographs and etchings on classical and literary subjects, sculpture,
murals, jewelry, and ceramic works. Picasso's palette is varied, but he
may, at times, limit himself to tones of gray and black, as in Guernica,
or to a favorite combination of black, white, and shades of ochre. Picasso
exhibits in his work both an attachment to the past and an innovating spirit,
a spontaneity and a sense of justice. His enormous talent, imagination,
and vitality add up to an artistic temperament that can be called genius.
Picasso's influence upon modern art has been immeasurable.
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Pablo
(Ruiz y) Picasso
Le
Vieux Guitariste
Pablo
(Ruiz y) Picasso
Guernica
Pablo
(Ruiz y) Picasso
Three
Musicians
Pablo
(Ruiz y) Picasso
Blue
Nude, The
Pablo
(Ruiz y) Picasso
Femme
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