Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso, also known
as Pablo Ruiz y Picasso is one of the greatest if not THE
greatest representative of Modern Art. As one of the creators
of cubism, his imaginative mind and creative talent placed
him in an artistic elite. With the thousands of paintings,
sculptures, and other works he created over the years, this
artistic genius was undisputedly one of the most influential
figures in 20th Century European and world art.
Picasso was
born on October 25, 1881 in Malaga Spain and as the son of
an academic painter and art teacher, began exploring his artistic
side at a very early age. His family moved from La Coruña
to Barcelona in 1895 where Picasso, an excellent student,
was accepted into La Lonja, the School of Fine Arts. Contact
with modernist groups early on in his development make their
mark on the artists style and expression. His first art exhibition
took place in Barcelona in 1900 and four years later, Picasso
settled in Paris. The period of his life between his first
exhibition and his move to France is referred to as his Blue
Period, a time when his characteristic painting style involved
mainly shades of blue and the subjects used for his work included
people who had endured the hardships of life. His next stage,
the Rose Period (from 1905 to 1906) features a warmer pink
tone, and is inspired in the world of the circus.
The next big movement
to appear was Cubism, of which Picasso was one of the originators,
along with Georges Braque. Cubism is an artistic style based
mainly on geometrical shapes. He had many friends in the art
scene, including art dealers Ambroise Vollard and Berthe Weill
and other artists such as Henri Matisse and Joan Miró, among
many others.
Picasso was married in 1918 to artist Olga and the couple
lived in Paris but traveled a great deal. In the late 20's
he participated in the surrealist movement and later took
an interest in sculpture. Picasso showed his work in many
galleries in Europe and his fame increased steadily.
Despite living in France, Picasso closely followed
events of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, which led to his
landmark painting Guernica, a criticism of the war,
currently displayed in the Queen Sofia Center of Art (Museo
Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia) in Madrid. The painting
had been in New York until 1981, the year it was taken to
Spain. Picasso refused to take the painting to Spain until
General Franco's Fascist rule ended.
While having spent a great part of his life
in Paris, Picasso moved to the South of France in the late
1940's and later in 1961 he moved to Mougins where he continued
to work on paintings, drawings and scultptures. He was preparing
for two exhibitions when he died in 1973, showing his true
passion and devotion to art.
