Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and theatre designer who lived mostly in France. He was one of the most important artists of the 20th century. He helped start the Cubist movement and created many new ways to make art.

Some of his most famous paintings are Les Demoiselles d'Avignon from 1907 and Guernica from 1937. Guernica shows how people felt after a town was bombed during the Spanish Civil War.

Picasso began drawing when he was very young. He learned from his father, José Ruiz y Blasco. As he grew older, he tried many different styles of painting. His work changed over time, and art experts talk about different “periods” in his life, like the Blue Period and the Rose Period. His art was also influenced by African cultures and later by Surrealism.

Because Picasso lived a long life and kept creating art, he made thousands of paintings, drawings, and sculptures. His ideas helped change the world of art. Many people still study and admire his work today. He became famous and wealthy, and many think he was one of the greatest artists of the 20th-century art.

Early life

Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born on 25 October 1881 in Málaga, a city in southern Spain. His father, José Ruiz y Blasco, was a painter and art teacher. His mother was María Picasso y López. From a very young age, Picasso loved to draw. His father taught him the basics of art, and Picasso became very skilled.

The family later moved to A Coruña and then to Barcelona. There, Picasso went to an art school. He loved studying great artists whose paintings were in museums, especially the works of El Greco.

Career

Picasso started learning art from his father before 1890. His early works are kept at the Museu Picasso in Barcelona. They show how he improved from simple drawings to better paintings. By 1894, he began his career as a painter, making realistic pictures of people and scenes.

Picasso’s style changed a lot over his life. In the early 1900s, he lived in Paris and made artworks using blue colors, called his Blue Period. Later, he used warmer colors like pink and orange, painting circus performers, known as his Rose Period. In 1907, he painted Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which surprised many people but became a famous painting. With Georges Braque, he developed Cubism, a way of showing objects from many angles at once. During World War II, he stayed in Paris and kept painting. In his later years, he painted in styles of old artists and made colorful, expressive works until he died in 1973.

Death

Pablo Picasso passed away on 8 April 1973 in Mougins, France, from a heart attack. He was painting late at night before he died.

He was buried at the Château of Vauvenargues near Aix-en-Provence. After he died, his family talked about his belongings and agreed on how to share them.

Works

Pablo Picasso made thousands of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints. His work showed many different styles, proving how he could change and try new things.

One of his most famous paintings is Guernica, which shows the sad effects of a war bombing.

Picasso often painted from his imagination and liked to date his works. He used many materials and techniques, such as adding sand to his paint. His sculptures sometimes used everyday objects.

Personal life

Pablo Picasso married ballet dancer Olga Khokhlova in 1918. They had a son named Paulo. Later, Picasso had other partners and children, including Maya, Claude, and Paloma. His relationships were sometimes difficult, but he stayed close to his children.

Political views

Picasso did not take part in the Catalan independence movement when he was young. He did not join any armies during World War I, the Spanish Civil War, or World War II. In 1944, Picasso joined the French Communist Party. He made strong artworks to show his political beliefs, such as The Dream and Lie of Franco in 1937, which was against Francisco Franco, and Massacre in Korea, which showed his stand against the Korean War. In 1949, Picasso drew Dove, a simple picture that became a famous symbol for peace.

Legacy

Picasso was one of the most important artists of the 20th century. In 1971, he was the first living artist to have a special show at the Louvre Museum in Paris for his 90th birthday. People had different thoughts about his art—some loved it, and some did not—but everyone knew he was very famous.

Many museums around the world have Picasso’s art. After he passed away, many of his paintings stayed with his family, and some are now at the Musée Picasso in Paris. There are also museums about him in Málaga, Spain, where he was born, and in Barcelona, Spain. His paintings have sold for very high prices, showing how much people value his work today.

In pop culture

In the 1996 movie Surviving Picasso, Picasso is played by actor Anthony Hopkins. He also appears in Steve Martin's 1993 play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile. In A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway talks about liking Picasso's art.

Picasso was played by Antonio Banderas in the 2018 season of Genius. He also appeared in the 2011 film Midnight in Paris, directed by Woody Allen, as part of the art community in Paris in the 1920s.