PABLO PICASSO
1881-1973
The slides to be studied:
The Old Guitarist(1903), oil on canvas, 47-3/4” x 32-1/2”
Gertrude Stein(1906), oil on canvas, 39-1/4” x 32”
Self Portrait(1906), oil on canvas, 36-1/4” x 28-3/4”
Les Demoiselles D’Avignon(1907), oil on canvas, 96” x 92”
Girl with Mandolin (Fanny Tellier)(1910), oil on canvas, 39-1/2” x 29”
Mother and Child(1921)
The Lovers(1923)
Woman with a Book(1932)
Portrait of J.R. with Roses(1954) oil on canvas, 39.5” x 32”
Seated Woman(1955), lithograph, 4l l/2” x 27 ½”
Girl Before a Mirror (1932) oil on canvas, 64” . 51 ¼
Guernica(1937), oil on canvas, 11’5-1/2” x 25’8-3/4”
“What is a face, really? Its own photo? Its make-up? Or is it a face as painted by such or
such painter? … Doesn’t everyone look at himself in his own particular way?” – Pablo Picasso
Essential Question
Why is Pablo Picasso still considered a genius in the field of art?
Biographical Information
The most celebrated artist of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso was a prodigy whose virtuosity, imagination, and
expressive power were evident long before he reached the age of 20.He dictated the direction of art for the first 50
th
years of the 20 century and worked prolifically until his death at the age of 92.
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad
Ruiz Picasso was born on October 25, 1881 in Málaga, Spain. His father was a painter, art teacher and museum
curator who recognized that his first born was a genius early on.
Although the word “genius” is overused and its definition debated, the “genius” of Picasso was almost always
universally agreed upon. Don José trained his son at home, and the child prodigy produced his first known oil painting
somewhere between the age of eight and nine. He enrolled in art school at age 11, and by age 13, had mastered the
drawing of the human body, on the basis of drawings of plaster casts, a popular training technique in European
academies.
When Picasso was 14 years old, his father accepted a teaching position at the Academy of Fine arts in Barcelona. By
now, though, he was already an accomplished artist and he and his father agreed that formal training was no longer
necessary. Soon after, at age 16, Picasso established his own studio in Barcelona, where he frequented the cafes
populated by intellectuals discussing anarchist politics. They encouraged him to argue for Catalonian separatism and
the defense of the downtrodden. Both his politics and his self-confidence in his artistic abilities helped shape his
works of art.
Picasso designed menus for the caféand sketched portraits of his assembled friends – many of which were published
in avant-garde journals in Barcelona. He even had a painting selected for exhibition in the 1900 Paris Universal
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Exposition. And so, just before his 19 birthday, Picasso traveled to Paris for a three-month visit. He had been
studying the paintings of Goya and El Greco in Madrid, and now he examined the works of Degas, Manet, Cézanne,
Gaugin and Toulouse-Lautrec, whose sketchy style impressed him a great deal.
His first visit to Paris generated recognition from a local picture dealer who bought several works and later became
his agent. Another dealer offered Picasso a monthly stipend in exchange for works. This was not just a measure of
his early success. Picasso preferred to showcase his works through dealers rather than at the large public exhibitions
or salons, and this was the beginning of his long association with many art dealers. Those relationships helped
guarantee the financial success and independence he developed and maintained over most of his life.
Picasso returned to Spain but soon decided his future lay in Paris. He settled in Paris in 1904, in the famed artist
colony of Monmartre. He remained in Paris until 1947, when he moved to the south of France. It was when he moved
to Paris that he stopped signing his works “P. Ruiz Picasso” and began signing only “Picasso.”
“Blue Period”
When he moved to Paris his canvases became dominated by blue and gray, establishing a distinctive stamp on his
art. This “Blue Period” is often explained by the suicide of Picasso’s childhood friend, a Spanish poet who killed
himself over a failed love affair. During this period from 1901 to 1904 Picasso’s work focused on outcasts, beggars,
and prostitutes – sad, forlorn people characterized by a predominantly blue palette. An example isThe Old
Guitarist,done almost entirely in blues, the color of gloom; this underlines the hopeless feeling and makes the starved
musician look even more pathetic. The end of Picasso’s Blue Period coincided with the end of his traveling between
Spain and France.
“Rose Period.”
From the summer of 1904 on, he remained in France. Now firmly part of the Parisian scene, he began his second
series, called the “Rose Period.” He continued his use of monochromatic backgrounds but now his palette brightened,
with varying tones of rose, pink and beige. The mood of extreme sadness and melancholy lessened but his figures
remained contemplative. His subjects are saltimbanques (circus people), harlequins, and clowns, all of whom seem
to be mute and strangely inactive and often considered cultural outcasts just as Picasso and his bohemian artist
friends.
“Les Fauves”
In 1905, Paris was rocked by the so-called scandal of the “Wild Beasts” (Les Fauves). Led by Henri Matisse, this
group of painters used garish and dissonant colors in seemingly arbitrary fashion, shunning what was known as
academic art and establishing French Expressionism. While Matisse was more scandal than success at this point, he
attracted the attention of Gertrude Stein, who had established herself as one of city’s leading patrons of avant-garde
art. Her home became a famous salon for many of the leading writers and artists of her time, including Ernest
Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sherwood Anderson, John Dos Passos, Ezra Pound, Matisse, Georges Braque –
and Picasso.
"Primitive” painters
Matisse had a profound influence on Picasso. He was also captivated by the almost cartoon-like works of the selftaught "primitive"French painter Henri Rousseau as well as by ancient Iberian sculpture from Spain, African art, and
Gauguin’s sculptures.
“Abstraction”
Another influence on Picasso at this time was Paul Cézanne, who had developed a new approach to depicting
physical forms – a flatness of space called abstraction. Slowly, he incorporated the simplified forms he found in these
sources into a striking portrait of Gertrude Stein, in which she has a severe mask-like – almost frightening – face and
massive body, matching the physical and intellectual power of the modernist author. Finished in 1906 after some 80
or 90 sittings, and given by her in her will to the Metropolitan Museum, Stein is supposed to have complained, "I don't
look at all like that," with Picasso replying, "You will, Gertrude, you will." He finished the head, which differs in style
from the body and hands, without her – testimony to the fact that it was his personal vision rather than reality that
guided him.
“Cubism”
This unique portrait came as a crucial shift in Picasso’s work. He went beyond Cézanne over the next several years,
expressing space in strongly geometric terms. These initial efforts at developing an almost sculptural sense of space
in painting was the beginning of an exciting new style called Cubism. Cubism is essentially the fragmenting of threedimensional forms into flat areas of angles and planes, patterns and colors overlapping and intertwining. The subject
of the painting is hidden among a variety of shapes and supposedly can be seen from all sides – like a sculpture.
Picasso created the style in tandem with his great friend Georges Braque, and at times, the works were so alike it
was hard for each artist quickly to identify their own. The two were so close for several years that Picasso took to
calling Braque, "ma femme" or "my wife," described the relationship as one of two mountaineers roped together, and
in some correspondence they referred to each other as "Orville and Wilbur" for they knew how profound their
invention of Cubism was.
Les Demoiselles d’Avignonis considered by some to be the beginning of Cubism
(although it really wasn’t) and the final death of Renaissance painting (which had been
challenged on other artistic fronts for years). Most experts agree, however, that it is one
of the most important works in the genesis of modern art.The painting depicts five
naked prostitutes in a brothel, whose figures are composed of flat, splintered planes
rather than rounded volumes. Their eyes are lopsided or staring or asymmetrical, and
the two women at the right have threatening masks for heads. The space almost looks
like broken glass. And at the bottom, a piece of melon slices the air like a knife.
The faces of the figures at the right were influenced by African Masks, which Picasso
assumed had functioned according to African lore as protectors against dangerous
spirits. The painting was so large – just about 8 feet square – that it required a new type
of stretcher and canvas. The classes of color and style marked a radical break from
traditional composition and perspective. Most profound, though, was the realization that
art could constitute its own form, that painting wasn’t necessarily a kind of logical
window on reality, and that painting could offer a new vision of reality – any way the
artist chooses to define it.Picasso rarely worked directly from a model or sitter as he did
with Gertrude Stein. But he felt that the new concern for form demanded a threedimensional form in front of him. Fanny Tellier was the model for Girl with a Mandolin –
but she quit after numerous sittings and Picasso, believing he could not continue
without his three-dimensional model, left the or as it was. And his future subjects
became less and less identifiable as his Cubist paintings became more and more
fragmented.
“Collage”
He created a number of Cubist styles throughout his career, some more fragmented
and less identifiable, some with restrictions in color, others with real paper glued to the
painting – a style called Collage, originated by Picasso. He never made the distinctions
himself, though. For Picasso, it was an ongoing creation – much like what was
happening in the technologically advancing world. And once again, as he realized his
success, he moved on.
His relationship with Braque ended by the First World War. He was living in Paris with his companion, Eva Gonzalez,
and was ready for a change in his art as well. He produced fascinating theatrical sets and costumes for the wellknown French ballet company, Ballet Russes beginning in 1916. He traveled with them to Rome, where he met Olga
Koklova, a dancer with the company and daughter of a Russian general. They married in 1918 (Eva had passed
away in 1915).
“Neo- Classical”
The ambiance of Rome may have impacted Picasso’s next stage: neo-classic. This phase featured monumental
figures. The bodies are as rounded and heavy as carved stone yet with a warmth and strength of form, as inMother
and Child.Picasso created some breathtaking line drawings during this time as well. Although critics said he
abandoned Cubism, he said he simply considered it an alternative, never intending to invalidate the more traditional
forms of art but rather to simply work in a more contemporary manner.
“Guernica- Protest art”
By the late 1930s, Picasso was the most famous artist in the world.At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1937,
he was appointed the director of the Prado and the Republican government asked him to paint a mural for the
Spanish pavilion at the world exposition in Paris. Just a few months later, the Nazis bombed the Basque town of
Guernica, inspiring what many consider to be Picasso’s most famous work.
In May of 1937, Picasso began work on studies that would comprise the monumental 26-foot mural representing art’s
condemnation of Fascism. The great scale ofGuernicawas new for Picasso. This was also his first painting inspired
by a specific historical event. He discarded color to intensify the dramatic look, producing a photographic-like record,
pervaded by appalling images of mutilation, death and destruction.
Many other paintings from this period reflect the horror of war, butthe durability ofGuernicaas protest art is seen in the
excerpting of its lower left-hand corner, showing the arm and head of the dead warrior, for use as an anti-Vietnam
War poster in the United States – 30 years later.
“Picasso and Women”
Picasso had many women in his life. His numerous biographers – and the artist himself – have confirmed that sex
and women had an enormous influence on his work. His rapid and often dramatic changes of style are frequently
attributed to the presence of a new love, the waning of an old one or both.
Olga, his first wife, gave birth to his first son, Paulo, in 1921, but the marriage was strained by 1925. Two years later,
Picasso took a 17-year-old mistress. He was deliriously happy and prolific in his work (many of his portraits were now
of his mistress, warm and colorful) until 1935 when her pregnancy became public knowledge. Olga moved out;
Picasso stopped painting for a year. Although he accepted caring for his newborn daughter, he never married her
mother.
Only two years after his daughter was born, Picasso met Dora, the daughter of a Yugoslav architect. He bought her a
house in 1945 but began keeping another mistress who later bore him a son, Claude, and a daughter, Paloma (yes,
the famous designer). But Picasso’s relationship with their mother deteriorated, and the eventual publication of her
memoirs,Life with Picasso,published in 1964, caused a split between Picasso and his children.
In the 1950s, however, he met Jacqueline Roque. They married in 1961 and she survived his death in 1973 at the
age of 92.
Pablo Picasso produced a range of images, from classical figures to radical abstractions, and is considered by many
to be the master of form. Besides being a prolific painter and draftsman, he was also an accomplished sculptor and
printmaker, and produced ceramics and theatrical designs. He even wrote poetry.
He exhibited widely and is still considered one of the most important and influential figures in 20th-century art. He is
still considered to be one of the century’s most innovative and Picasso's style changed many times throughout his
career.More than any other artist, he symbolizes the revolutionary aspect of modern art. He experimented with
unique ways of seeing the world. Interestingly, his subjects conformed to those of “older” art – portraits, still lives,
landscapes, animals, mothers and children, lovers, themes of pleasure and suffering.
Speaking the Language of Art
Abstraction
A style of art not dependent upon a natural approach to the subject matter.
Avant-garde
A French term used to designate innovators whose experimental art challenges the values of the cultural
establishment.
Cubism
The simultaneous depiction of many different views of an object.
Collage
A composition made by pasting together on a flat surface various materials such as bits of newspaper, wallpaper,
cloth and printed photographs.
Form
A shape; a total configuration of shapes, structure and expressiveness that make a piece of artwork.
Monochrome
Artwork whose color palette is limited to only one family of color.
Rose period
A monochromatic backgroundswhose palette is brightened, with varying tones of rose, pink and beige. The mood of
extreme sadness and melancholy lessened but
his figures remained contemplative.
Blue Period
During this period from 1901 to 1904 Picasso's work focused on outcasts, beggars, and prostitutes - sad, forlorn
people characterized by a predominantly blue palette.
Neo-classical
The style that captures the splendor of ancient Greece and Rome.
Protest ArtIn May of 1937, Picasso began work on studies that would comprise the monumental 26-foot mural
representing art’s condemnation of Fascism
Essential Questions
1. How do Pablo Picasso’s innovative styles of art still influence art and artists today?
2. How do influences around him (locations, wars, relationships (including other artists) effect how his work
evolved?
3. Describe the progression of evolving styles in Picasso’s artwork.
4. Discuss the changes in his palette during different periods of his life.
5. How does the color palette set the mood of the various paintings?
6. Compare and contrast a cubist portrait or a “collaged portrait” vs. a traditional portrait? In your opinion,
justify each style as a valuable art form.
7. Compare elements of art as exhibited in a Cubist painting to created in a more traditional style.line,
shape, texture, value and color)
8. Discuss how the elements of art can be found in all the different styles of Picasso’s work? (line, shape,
texture, value and color)
9. As Picasso grew artistically, what things about his art changed and what remained constant?
10.Discuss the various ways art can be used to show political views.