Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso was considered the greatest artist of the 20th century because of his unique styles and techniques. Pablo Ruiz y Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain on October 25, 1881 to a professor of art named Jose Ruiz Blanco and his wife Maria Picasso Lopez. Because of his fathers' occupation, Picasso's talent was quickly noticed and appreciated. Don Jose, an art teacher, moved Picasso and his family to La Coruna and then to Barcelona where he was Picasso's instructor at the fine arts academy. At the age of 10 Picasso made his first paintings, and performed brilliantly on the entrance exams to Barcelona's School Of Fine Arts. From there he went to the academy of San Fernando Madrid, and returned to Barcelona in 1900. In his early teenage years Picasso painted under his fathers influence and in Spanish realism. As his knowledge became broader, he also painted in the dotted style of impressionism and the art of nouveau style. From 1901 to 1904 Picasso entered a phase called "Blue Period". In 1901 Picasso's friend Carles Casagimas shot himself because of a broken romance. This tragic death effected Picasso greatly, and because of his own failures he fell into a depression period. Even Picasso's art was effected by his depression. His paintings were gloomy and mostly composed of shades of blues and greens. During this time Picasso painted the homeless, beggars, prostitutes, cripples, the hungry, and other out cast. In his paintings Picasso distorted the human figure to convey the mortal and principal decay of his subjects. In Evocation (The Burial of Casagemas), painted in 1901, Picasso showed the body of his friend Casagemas lying on the earth shrouded in white, while people mourn over it. His spirit is riding a white horse which moves upward through a sky thick with nude people. Another famous painting from this period is La Vie, painted in 1903, which shows saddened, couple embracing and looking at the figure of an old woman holding a baby in her arms. The painting also contains two small pictures of nudes between the large standing figures. The two small paintings of huddled nude figures came from the Van Gogh painting Sorrow. Blind Mans Meal, Painted in 1903, depicts a blind man seated at a table which was set for a meal. One hand held a piece of bread, while the long fingers of the other reached toward the jug of wine. To Picasso blindness was the cruelest and most fearful of all sufferings (Ripley 12). The last example in Picasso "Blue Period" was The Old Guitarist, painted in 1904, which is an elongated El Greco-like figure sitting cross-legged and bent sorrowfully into the area of the canvas. There is little sign of life about the man, his shoulders are bony and his pose cramped, as if to show that he finds no ease in the world around him. In 1905 close to the ending of his Blue Period Picasso decided to move back to Paris. It was here that he met Fernande Oliver and eventually fell in love with her. Picasso's paintings took a drastic change. He went from painting beggars and outcast to happy, healthy circus performers and families. It was obvious that Picasso's first love had a tremendous effect on his art. Picasso's paintings no longer consisted of blue tones but instead took on more delicate rose tones. Fernande Oliver reflected his work and his happiness. One of Picasso's best works linked his Blue and Rose Period was The Frugal Repast. The painting had a beautiful healthy looking woman being embraced by a long dirty, hungry man. Picasso felt this way about Fernande Oliver. He pictured himself as a poverty stricken man who was lucky enough to be with a beautiful woman. From the time 1905 to 1906 Picasso entered the Rose Period. Subtle pinks and grays with even brighter tones were the colors Picasso used. Some people also believed the warm tones of this period were influence by Picasso's habit of smoking opium (Ripley 101). Picasso was fascinated with clowns, acrobats, and other families of the circus world (Encarta CD-ROM). During his "Rose Period" Picasso did numerous etchings, dry points, and a series of sculptures. Some paintings Picasso did during this period included Family of Saltimbanques. This painting is happily colored and full of acrobats. Looking closer at the painting shows each figure isolated from one another psychologically (Encarta CD-ROM). La Toilette painted in 1905 suggest memories of Greek vases, and shows Picasso's feelings over classical simplicity (Encarta CD-ROM). But in 1906 Picasso wanted to start over. Instead of the elegance used