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Pablo Picasso Biography
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973),
Picasso was probably the most famous artist of the twentieth century.
During his artistic career, which lasted more than 75 years, he created
thousands of works, not only paintings but also sculptures, prints,
and ceramics, using all kinds of materials. He almost single-handedly
created modern art. He changed art more profoundly than any other
artist of this century. First famous for his pioneering role in Cubism,
Picasso continued to develop his art with a pace and vitality comparable
to the accelerated technological and cultural changes of the twentieth
century. Each change embodied a radical new idea, and it might be
said that Picasso lived several artistic lifetimes. Picasso was born
on October 25, 1881, in Malaga, Spain, son of an artist, Jose Ruiz,
and Maria Picasso. Rather than adopt the common name Ruiz, the young
Picasso took the rarer name of his mother. An artistic prodigy, Picasso,
at the age of 14, completed the one-month qualifying examination of
the Academy of Fine Arts in Barcelona in one day. From there he went
to the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid, returning in 1900 to Barcelona,
where he frequented the city's famous cabaret of intellectuals and
artists, Els Quatre Gats. The years of 1901 to 1904, known as the
"blue period" because of the blue tonality of Picasso's paintings
were a time of frequent changes of residence between Barcelona and
Paris. During this period, he would spend his days in Paris studying
the masterworks at the Louvre and his nights enjoying the company
of fellow artists at cabarets like the Lapin Agile. 1905 and 1906
marked a radical change in color and mood for Picasso. He became fascinated
with the acrobats, clowns and wandering families of the circus world.
He started to paint in subtle pinks and grays, often highlighted with
brighter tones. This was known as his "rose period." In 1907, Picasso
painted "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," considered the watershed picture
of the twentieth century, and met Georges Braque, the other leading
figure of the Cubist movement. Cubism was equally the creation of
Picasso and Braque and from 1911 to 1913, the two men were in frequent
contact. In 1917, Picasso did the set and costume design for Serge
Diaghilev's ballet "Parade." For Picasso the 1920's were years of
rich artistic exploration and great productivity. Picasso continued
to design theater sets and painted in Cubist, Classical and Surreal
modes. From 1929 to 1931, he pioneered wrought iron sculpture with
his old friend Julio Gonzalez. In the early 1930's, Picasso did a
large quantity of graphic illustrations. In late April of 1937, the
world learned the shocking news of the saturation bombing of the civilian
target of Guernica, Spain by the Nazi Luftwaffe. Picasso responded
with his great anti-war painting, "Guernica." During World War II,
Picasso lived in Paris, where he turned his energy to the art of ceramics.
From 1947 to 1950, he pursued new methods of lithography. The l950's
saw the beginning of a number of large retrospective exhibits of his
works. During this time he began to a paint a series of works conceived
as free variations on old master paintings. In the 1960's, he produced
a monumental 50-foot sculpture for the Chicago Civic Center. In 1970,
Picasso donated more than 800 of his works to the Berenguer de Aguilar
Palace Museum in Barcelona. Pablo Picasso died on April 8, 1973 in
Mougins, France at the age of 91.
To buy
Pablo Picasso pictures framed click the Framed
Link or Mounted Link.
Pablo Picasso Picture Gallery
