Biography:
Pablo
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
Some of his works of art: