Pablo Picasso. Is there any other artist so versatile? The man felt it a tragedy if a person stayed the same, with the same style their whole lives. The world changes all around, and one must constantly change along with it. The co-inventor of Cubism (along with Georges Braque) had a long, successful, and prolific career as a painter, sculptor, and potter. Nine of his paintings are in the list of the 25 most expensive paintings sold at auction. He is truly one of the most well known artists of the 20th century.
Early Art: Shades of Blue and Red
Traitt
Pablo Picasso was the son of Jose Ruiz y Blasco, a painter and art professor, perhaps influencing young Pablo into a life of art. But according to his mother, Maria Picasso y Lopez, Pablo's first word was "pencil," thus the boy was born to be an artist. Picasso would reflect, "My mother said to me, 'If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.' Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso." He received his first formal training under his father and began with academic realism. Slowly, being influenced by El Greco and Edvard Munch, he developed a more modernist style.
His career can be broken down into several periods. His Blue Period (1901- 1904), is rightly named for the characteristic somber hues and sad subjects that dominate these canvasses. Often poor mothers with undernourished children, sad lower class families, and overall just depressed people in desolate surroundings were the main subjects. His bleak outlook on life at this juncture was probably the result of losing a friend to suicide.
The Rose Period (1904- 1906) marks a change into a happier era for the artist. "Boy With Pipe" which is the highest selling Picasso at auction, was painted during this period. This happier time was when Picasso met Fernande Olivier and is reminiscent of happier times earlier in his life before the Blue Period. You'll see many acrobats and Harlequins in this period.
African Influences and Cubism
You begin to see a change in his style in the African Period of 1907 - 1909, away from more realistic representations of everyday people to much more expressive depictions. As the name of the period implies, this is when Picasso was influenced by African culture, particularly works of art in sculpture, which were being brought back to France during their expansion into the African continent. His most important work of this period is the "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon." Particular importance are the two figures to the right, whose faces resemble African masks, and show the first signs of Cubism.
The "Avignon" painting marked a transition into the Cubism periods, Analytic Cubism and Synthetic Cubism from 1909-1919. Collaborating with Georges Braque, the two men invented a new type of art where the artist would analyze the subject and break it down into its basic shapes. Objects can be depicted two dimensionally but from many different angles and viewpoints. All depth is removed, and the foreground object and background blend and mingle into each other. This style of painting would apply to sculpting and collage, the new method invented by Picasso, Braque and others, of cutting paper and arranging the shapes in a composition.
Later Art: Classical, Surrealist, and Sculpture
Around the time after World War I, Picasso switched to a more classical style, following in the Neoclassical footsteps of Giorgio de Chirico and others. Drawings and paintings of this period often include the minotaur, which would lead into more surrealistic artwork.
It was in the 1930s when Guernica was painted. Probably one of Picasso's most famous works of art, it shows the horrors of war and the agony of the innocent in detail, as the Nazi bombs drop on the Spanish town.
Picasso got into sculpture and pottery and in the summer of 1949, he along with Jacques Lipchitz and 248 other sculptors exhibited at the 3rd Sculpture International at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In the 1950s he would move on to yet even different styles, doing versions of Velazquez's Las Meninas, and other famous works by Goya and others. He was commissioned to do a 50 foot public sculpture for 0,000 for the city of Chicago. He refused the money and donated it to the people of the city.
Picasso died in 1973, leaving no will, but instead leaving his works, along with many Mastisse's to France. These works form the collection of the Musée Picasso in Paris.
Picasso In Modern Culture
Pablo Picasso is probably the most well known artist of the 20th century. When people are asked to name an artist, any artist, Picasso most often comes to mind first. His innovative styles have been copied by professional and amateur artists alike.
One very good movie about him is "Surviving Picasso" with Anthony Hopkins as the artist. Shot in Paris and outlying areas, it's about the relationship with the artist seen through the eyes of Francois Gilet, played by Natascha McElhone. The movie shows most of the women in the man's life, often meeting one another in sometimes awkward and comical ways.
Toward the beginning of the film, Germany occupies France and a few soldiers are inquiring of the value of some of Picasso's paintings. Picasso had a knack for dealing with people, and often got his way, as he tricks the soldiers into believing the better paintings were really junk, and the bad ones the more valuable. He even gives one of the worser ones to one of the soldiers to give to his wife.
Another scene shows a parlor full of art dealers and collectors impatiently waiting in line to see the great artist, who pays them very little mind. Every so often he will come out and give all attention to one art dealer while completely ignoring all the others, even the ones he knows very well. Once in, a certain groveling collector begs for the most recent "Picasso" so he can take it back to New York. Picasso knows the guy is just kissing up to him, so he has a little fun and asks, "How about this one, you interested?" The man joyously says, "Am I? Of course I'm...uh..." only to see a few lines drawn on a scrap paper.
I think we all could learn from Picasso and constantly change our styles and views to keep it fresh. That way you can always be interested in new things, and never get bored.
The Many Styles Of Picasso Traitt
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