Pablo Picasso(1881-1973)
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Pablo Picasso, one of the most recognized figures of 20th century
art, who co-created such styles as Cubism and Surrealism, was also among
most innovative, influential, and prolific artists of all time.
He was born Pablo Ruiz Picasso on October 6, 1881, in Malaga, Spain. He
was the first child of Jose Ruiz y Blasco and Maria Picasso y Lopez.
His father was an artist and professor of art at the School of Fine
Arts, and also a curator of museum in Malaga, Spain. Picasso began
studying art under his father's tutelage, continued at the Academy of
Arts in Madrid for a year, and went on his ingenious explorations of
the new horizons. He went to Paris in 1901 and found the environment
conducive for his experiments with new art styles. Gertrude Stein, Guillaume Apollinaire,
and André Breton were among his friends and collectors.
Constantly updating his style from the Blue Period, to the Rose Period,
to the African-influenced Period, to Cubism, to Realism and Surrealism
he was a pioneer with a hand in every art movement of the 20th century.
He made some softer and neo-classic artworks during his cooperation
with the Russian Ballet of Sergei Diaghilev in Paris. In 1917 Picasso joined the
Russian Ballet on tour in Rome, Italy. There he fell in love with Olga
Khokhlova, a classical ballerina from the Russian nobility (her father
was a General to the Russian Tsar Nickolas II). Picasso painted Olga as
a Spanish girl in his painting "Olga Khokhlova in Mantilla" to convince
his parents for their blessing, and his idea worked. Picasso and Olga
Khokhlova wed in Paris, in 1918, and had one son, Paolo. After their
marriage, Olga's high society lifestyle clashed with Picasso's bohemian
manners. They separated in 1935, but remained officially married until
her death in 1954. Meanwhile, his most famous lovers, Marie Therese
Walter and Dora Maar, were also his inspirational models for a series
of experimental portraits.
Picasso was a pacifist. His outcry for peace was expressed in
large-scale painting Guernica (1937), created after the German bombing
of this Spanish city. This powerful composition, showing the brutal
inhumanity of war, became his most famous work and turned him into a
political celebrity. In 1940 Picasso applied for French citizenship,
but was denied it, and remained Spanish. Protected by his fame, he was
untouchable even to the Nazis in the occupied Paris. A skillful
self-promoter, he used politics, eccentricity, and provocation as a
selling tool. Sarcastic harlequin and dominating minotaur were his
personal symbols, frequently used in his artworks. His life turned into
a PR campaign, playing with scandals; viciousness to his own children,
exaggerated virility and beastly treatment of his women. However, he
was forgiven by the public. Even his membership in the Communist party
and his controversial comments about Joseph Stalin, who awarded Picasso the
Stalin Prize for Peace in 1950, were ignored by his admirers. His
life-long extraordinary artistic dialogue with Henri Matisse took a form of a
"visual conversation" and exchange of their paintings with mutual
respect. After WWII he returned to "classical" style and created the
"Dove of Peace".
An innovator and a multi-faceted personality, Picasso dominated the
20th century Western Art, spreading his influence beyond art into many
aspects of culture and life. In his several film appearances Picasso
always played himself. His lifestyle remained as bohemian and vivacious
as it was in his youth. Picasso died in style while entertaining his
guests at a dinner party, on April 8, 1973, in Mouglins, in
southeastern France. Picasso's last words were "Drink to me, drink to
my health, you know I can't drink any more." He was interred at Castle
Vauvenargues' park, in Vauvenargues, Bouches-du-Rhone, in the South of
France.
Pablo Picasso's paintings rank among the most expensive artwork in the
world, establishing a price record with $104 million sale of "Garçon a
la pipe" in 2004. Picasso produced over 13 thousand paintings or
designs, 100,000 prints and engravings, 34 thousand book illustrations
and 300 sculptures, becoming the most prolific artist
ever.
art, who co-created such styles as Cubism and Surrealism, was also among
most innovative, influential, and prolific artists of all time.
He was born Pablo Ruiz Picasso on October 6, 1881, in Malaga, Spain. He
was the first child of Jose Ruiz y Blasco and Maria Picasso y Lopez.
His father was an artist and professor of art at the School of Fine
Arts, and also a curator of museum in Malaga, Spain. Picasso began
studying art under his father's tutelage, continued at the Academy of
Arts in Madrid for a year, and went on his ingenious explorations of
the new horizons. He went to Paris in 1901 and found the environment
conducive for his experiments with new art styles. Gertrude Stein, Guillaume Apollinaire,
and André Breton were among his friends and collectors.
Constantly updating his style from the Blue Period, to the Rose Period,
to the African-influenced Period, to Cubism, to Realism and Surrealism
he was a pioneer with a hand in every art movement of the 20th century.
He made some softer and neo-classic artworks during his cooperation
with the Russian Ballet of Sergei Diaghilev in Paris. In 1917 Picasso joined the
Russian Ballet on tour in Rome, Italy. There he fell in love with Olga
Khokhlova, a classical ballerina from the Russian nobility (her father
was a General to the Russian Tsar Nickolas II). Picasso painted Olga as
a Spanish girl in his painting "Olga Khokhlova in Mantilla" to convince
his parents for their blessing, and his idea worked. Picasso and Olga
Khokhlova wed in Paris, in 1918, and had one son, Paolo. After their
marriage, Olga's high society lifestyle clashed with Picasso's bohemian
manners. They separated in 1935, but remained officially married until
her death in 1954. Meanwhile, his most famous lovers, Marie Therese
Walter and Dora Maar, were also his inspirational models for a series
of experimental portraits.
Picasso was a pacifist. His outcry for peace was expressed in
large-scale painting Guernica (1937), created after the German bombing
of this Spanish city. This powerful composition, showing the brutal
inhumanity of war, became his most famous work and turned him into a
political celebrity. In 1940 Picasso applied for French citizenship,
but was denied it, and remained Spanish. Protected by his fame, he was
untouchable even to the Nazis in the occupied Paris. A skillful
self-promoter, he used politics, eccentricity, and provocation as a
selling tool. Sarcastic harlequin and dominating minotaur were his
personal symbols, frequently used in his artworks. His life turned into
a PR campaign, playing with scandals; viciousness to his own children,
exaggerated virility and beastly treatment of his women. However, he
was forgiven by the public. Even his membership in the Communist party
and his controversial comments about Joseph Stalin, who awarded Picasso the
Stalin Prize for Peace in 1950, were ignored by his admirers. His
life-long extraordinary artistic dialogue with Henri Matisse took a form of a
"visual conversation" and exchange of their paintings with mutual
respect. After WWII he returned to "classical" style and created the
"Dove of Peace".
An innovator and a multi-faceted personality, Picasso dominated the
20th century Western Art, spreading his influence beyond art into many
aspects of culture and life. In his several film appearances Picasso
always played himself. His lifestyle remained as bohemian and vivacious
as it was in his youth. Picasso died in style while entertaining his
guests at a dinner party, on April 8, 1973, in Mouglins, in
southeastern France. Picasso's last words were "Drink to me, drink to
my health, you know I can't drink any more." He was interred at Castle
Vauvenargues' park, in Vauvenargues, Bouches-du-Rhone, in the South of
France.
Pablo Picasso's paintings rank among the most expensive artwork in the
world, establishing a price record with $104 million sale of "Garçon a
la pipe" in 2004. Picasso produced over 13 thousand paintings or
designs, 100,000 prints and engravings, 34 thousand book illustrations
and 300 sculptures, becoming the most prolific artist
ever.