Diving deep into Picasso's world conducted by an Expert Local Guide
“When I was a child my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk, you'll be the pope.' Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.”
These are the words of Pablo Picasso, the famous son of Malaga. Born in a poor family in 1881, Pablo Picasso ended up as the greatest painter of his century. He was a dominant artistic genius who determined the rise of modern and contemporary art with unparalleled magnitude.
A prolific and tireless innovator of art, Picasso experimented and innovated during his 92-plus years on earth. His 20,000 drawings, paintings, and ceramics convey immeasurable intellectual, social, and amorous messages. Along with Georges Braque, a French painter, Picasso is credited with the creation of Cubism. It is a type of art that emphasizes abstract structure.
Pablo Picasso was a genius. He was a master painter, renowned sculptor, printmaker, ceramics artist, and writer. He impacted modern and contemporary art through decades that matured from the naturalism of his childhood through Cubism, Surrealism, and beyond. Picasso was a witness to two World Wars, sired four children, appeared in films, and wrote poetry.
The celebrated artist charted a new path for the world of art. What made him a rarity was that his works were cherished while he was still alive. He went through various artistic stages: the Blue Period, Rose period, Primitivism, Cubism, Neoclassicism, and surrealism. The genius from Andalusia was not just a generation but a rare species. Pablo once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
Early Years- The prodigy is born
According to his mother, “piz, piz” the short words for “lapiz’ which means pencil in Spanish were Pablo’s first words. He exhibited passion and a skill for drawing from an early age.
From a very early age, Picasso received formal artistic training. His first teacher was his father. One day his father observed Pablo completing his unfinished sketch of a pigeon with unmatched perfection. The same day his father vowed to give up painting as he thought Picasso had surpassed him. It was the turning point in Picasso’s artistic legacy. According to Picasso,” “The chief enemy of creativity is good sense.”
Middle years-Picasso in Paris
In 1895, Picasso moved to Barcelona. There he got admission in the advanced program of Barcelona’s Academy of Fine Arts. However, his father became his chief critic in his artistic career. His family life was in a tumultuous phase. Frustrated with his father, Picasso left for Paris in 1900 in pursuit of his artistic stardom. In Paris, Picasso created the “Barcelona Suite.” These are original oil paintings in which Picasso depicted the memories of people he met on the streets of Barcelona in his childhood.
The Blue and Rose Periods
The sculpture made during the years from 1900 to 1904 is called Picasso’s “blue period”. In the works “The Old Guitarist” (1903), he painted in blue tones. It evoked the melancholy of the poor. "Blue Nude” and "La Vie" are other great works of this period. The blue period was followed by the “rose period”. It was between the years 1904 to 1906. It was less melancholic. He depicted circus scenes. Harlequins, clowns, and circus folk were the recurring subjects in this period. “Boy with a Pipe” one of his best-selling paintings was from the rose period.
Cubism and African Influence
Picasso worked with Georges Braque from 1907 to 1912. The duo started the beginning of the Cubist movement in art. The art utilized the palette of earth tones. The paintings constituted complex geometric forms. His famous work “Les Damoiselles d’Avignon” was created during his African art and Primitivism period from 1907 to 1909. This is one of the best-known and most controversial works that was inspired by angular African art. African sculpture and ancient Iberian art had a significant influence on this great work. It is considered the precursor of Cubism.
Fernande Olivier, his romantic partner is believed to have figured in his Cubist arts. Historian believes she appeared in “Head of a Woman” and also in “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”. The early Cubist paintings of Picasso were known as his "Analytic Cubist". They included works like "Three Women" (1907), "Bread and Fruit Dish on a Table" (1909) and, "Girl with Mandolin" (1910). According to Picasso, God is also an artist. He once said, “God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style; He just goes on trying other things.”
Mature Period
The encounter with Surrealism brought a change of direction. Picasso’s work became more expressive and erotic or violent. It was a period when his marriage with dancer Olga began to break down. He had developed a relationship with Therese Walter. Critics believed that the change of romantic relationships often changed his style of work. His partnership with Khokhlova reflected his interest in dance. Picasso frequently painted the women he was in a relationship with. His disturbed personal life is well represented on canvas. His collaboration with Julio Gonzales in the late 192s was the most significant creative partnership after Braque. It culminated in highly influential welded metal sculptures. The political developments in 1930 started affecting Picasso’s view. They kept him occupied for some time. The bombings of civilians in the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War resulted in the creation of “Guernica”. It is considered to be the best work of Picasso.
He stayed in Paris during World War II. The war had a huge impact on Picasso. His collection was confiscated by the Nazis and some close Jewish friends were killed. His work “The Charnel House” commemorated them employing hard and cold material like metal.
Late Years and Death
Picasso married Jacqueline Roque in 1961. He sought solace from celebrity status in the last phase of his life. The paintings were portrait-based. However, the critics considered them inferior to his earlier paintings. During this phase, he created many ceramic and bronze sculptures. Picasso died from pulmonary edema and heart failure in 1973.
The Legacy of Pablo Picasso
Every phase of Picasso's life was impactful in its own right. He had profound and far-reaching influence. His symbolist pieces remain iconic forever. His innovations in pioneering Cubism established a set of pictorial problems and approaches. Although after World War II the energy in avant-garde art shifted to New York, Picasso remained a titanic figure. He was the one who could never be ignored. The Museum of Modern Art in New York has been named as "the house that Pablo built,” as it had widely exhibited Picasso’s work. When he died at age 91, Picasso had already created thousands of works of art. There are more than 29,000 cataloged Picasso artworks. It is believed that there could be tens of thousands more uncatalogued works as well. Picasso never stopped creating. He was never afraid of experimentation. He felt energized while exploring every artistic medium known to man. Picasso’s story is a story of a man who loved art. He loved art intensely and devoted his life to exploring every aspect of it.