| 1881
- 1973
Pablo Ruiz Picasso is probably the most important
figure in 20th Century art. Time magazine art critic Robert
Hughes once said that "To say that Pablo Picasso dominated
Western art in the 20th century is, by now, the merest commonplace.
Before his 50th birthday, the little Spaniard from Malaga
had become the very prototype of the modern artist as public
figure. No painter before him had had a mass audience in his
own lifetime."
He was born October 25, 1881 in Malaga, Spain
and by the time he died in France in April of 1973, had created
a staggering 22.000 works of art in a variety of mediums,
including sculpture, ceramics, mosaics, stage design and graphic
arts. As critic Hughes notes, "There was scarcely a 20th
century movement that he didn't inspire, contribute to or--in
the case of Cubism, which, in one of art history's great collaborations,
he co-invented with Georges Braque--beget." Quite simply,
as well as being a force of culture, Picasso was also a force
of nature.
Early Life and Work
A precocious draftsman, Picasso was admitted to the advanced
classes at the Royal Academy of Art in Barcelona at 15. After
1900 he spent much time in Paris, remaining there from 1904
to 1947, when he moved to the South of France. His power is
revealed in his very early works, some of which were influenced
by Toulouse-Lautrec (such as Old Woman, 1901; Philadelphia
Mus. of Art).
Picasso’s artistic production is usually
described in terms of a series of overlapping periods. In
his “Blue Period” (1901–4) he depicted the
world of the poor. Predominantly in tones of blue, these melancholy
paintings (such as The Old Guitarist, 1903; Art Inst. of Chicago)
are among the most popular art works of the century. Canvases
from Picasso’s “Rose Period” (1905–6)
are characterized by a lighter palette and greater lyricism,
with subject matter often drawn from circus life. Picasso’s
Parisian studio attracted the major figures of the avant-garde
at this time, including Matisse, Braque, Apollinaire, and
Gertrude Stein. He had already produced numerous engravings
of great power and began his work in sculpture during these
years.
Cubism
In 1907 Picasso painted Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (Mus.
of Modern Art, New York City), a radical departure from the
artistic ideas of the preceding ages and now considered the
most significant work in the development toward cubism and
modern abstraction (see modern art). The influence of Cézanne
and of African sculpture is apparent in its fragmented forms
and unprecedented distortions. The painting heralded the first
phase of cubism, called analytic cubism. This severe, intellectual
style was conceived and developed by Picasso, Braque, and
Gris c.1909–12. Picasso’s Female Nude (1910–11;
Philadelphia Mus. of Art) is a representative painting and
his Woman’s Head (1909; Mus. of Modern Art, New York
City) a representative sculpture of this style.
In the synthetic phase of cubism (after 1912)
his forms became larger and more representational, and flat,
bright decorative patterns replaced the earlier, more austere
compositions. The Three Musicians (1921; Mus. of Modern Art,
New York City) exemplifies this style. Picasso’s cubist
works established firmly that the work of art may exist as
a significant object beyond any attempt to represent reality.
During both periods of cubism experiments by Picasso and others
resulted in several new techniques, including collage and
papier collé.
Other Stylistic Innovations
Picasso’s enormous energy and fecundity was manifested
by another development. In the 1920s he drew heavily on classical
themes and produced magnificent monumental nudes and monsters
that were reminiscent of antiquity and rendered with a certain
anguished irony. These works appeared simultaneously with
synthetic cubist paintings. Picasso was for a time saluted
as a forerunner of Surrealism, but his intellectual approach
was basically antithetical to the irrational aesthetic of
the Surrealist painters.
The artist sought to strengthen the emotional
impact of his work and became preoccupied with the delineation
of agony. In 1937 the bombing of the Spanish town of Guernica
impelled him to produce his second landmark painting, Guernica
(Queen Sophia Center of Art, Madrid), an impassioned allegorical
condemnation of fascism and war. Long held by the Museum of
Modern Art in New York City, the work was transferred to Spain’s
Prado in 1981, and was moved to the Queen Sofia Center of
Art, Madrid, in 1992. The profits Picasso earned from a series
of etchings and prints on the Guernica theme made in the 1930s
went to help the Republican cause.
Later Life and Work
In his later years Picasso turned to creations of fantasy
and comic invention. He worked consistently in sculpture,
ceramics, and in the graphic arts, producing thousands of
superb drawings, illustrations, and stage designs. With unabated
vigor he painted brilliant variations on the works of other
masters, including Delacroix and Velázquez, and continued
to explore new aspects of his personal vision until his death.
His notable later works include Rape of the Sabines (1963;
Picasso Mus., Paris) and Young Bather with Sand Shovel (1971;
private collection, France). By virtue of his vast energies
and overwhelming power of invention Picasso remains outstanding
among the masters of the ages. Picasso died on April 8, 1973
at his home, Notre-Dame-de-Vie in Mougin, France. He was buried
on April 10 at his castle Vauvenagues, 170 kilometers from
Mougin.
Don't forget to visit the Picasso
Museum while in Barcelona.
Montcada Street, 15-23
08002 Barcelona (Spain)
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