Picasso-one of the greatest artists in the 20th century
Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain on October 25, 1881. His father was a
painter and art teacher. Picasso showed artistic talent at his early age. His first
drawing was done when he was nine. In 1895, his family had moved to Barcelona and
he studied arts at the school there. By the age of 16 he was already technically skilled
in drawing and painting, also at that time he had his own studio in Barcelona and was
eagerly trying to draw with varieties of styles. Picasso’s highly original style
continuously evolved throughout his long career, expanding the definition of what art
could be. In addition to painting, he would explore sculpture, ceramics and other art
forms,
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The first period which was from 1901 to 1904 is called his blue period. His paintings
mainly depicted suffering children, women, and beggars in shades of blue. The
paintings showed themes of interpersonal relationship of indifference and isolation,
evoking feelings of sadness. Especially, he got deeply depressed over the death of his
close friend, Casagemas. According to the book of Pablo Picasso, “When, however,
after sixty-five years of obscurity, the paintings prompted by the death of his friend
Casagemas in the autumn of 1901 saw the light of day, the psychological motive
behind the Blue Period seemed to have been discovered. (Charles, 30) The famous
paintings he made in this period include La Vie, Woman in Blue, and The Absinthe
Drinker.
By around 1904, Picasso got over his depression. He also fell in love with a French
model for sculptors and artists, Fernande Olivier. Many of paintings were influenced
by his warm relationship with her at that time. Picasso's painting style changed from
the blue melancholy style to more romantic theme. He began to use red and
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The painting
demonstrated that he wanted to destroy the whole of Western art since the early
Renaissance. Not only the proportions, but the organic integrity and continuity of the
human body are denied here.
In 1912，Picasso began to combine Cubism and collage. This was where he would use
sand or plaster in his paint to give it texture. He would also apply materials such as
colored paper, newspapers, and wallpaper to his paintings to give them added
dimension. Some of Picasso’s Cubism paintings include “Three Musicians" and
Portrait of Ambroise Vollard.
After World War I erupted, around 1921, he went through a period of classical style in
his paintings, drawing and sculpture, although Picasso would continue to experiment
with Cubism. Picasso returned to his old habits of depicting works about reality. He
depicted many of these figures as massive, dense, and weighty, an effect intensified
by strong contrasts of light and dark. He created powerful characters that almost
appeared to be three-dimensional, like statues.
Around 1924, Picasso became interested in the Surrealist movement.