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Biography Picasso
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.
A
controversial Picasso "confession". Read at your own risk...
Insistent
Presence in Picasso's Portrait of Gertrude Stein (Judith Rodenbeck)
Picasso
- The Early Years, 1892-1906 (Boston Museum of Fine Arts: Sept. 10 - Jan.
4)
Picasso:
Prints, Posters, and Photos - over 140 images (postershop.com, Germany)
Secreted
Picasso - St. Petersburg Times article on new Hermitage exhibition
Museo
Picasso Virtual - 35 virtual "salas" of images (Dr. Enrique Mallen)
The
Pablo Picasso Official Website (Introduction by Claude Picasso)
Picasso
Anthology (Grolier)
Pablo
Picasso on the Internet (Artcyclopedia)
The
Picasso Conspiracy (Mark Harris)
Guernica
Unveiled (Alan Carter)
Surviving
Picasso (Warner Bros.)
Pablo
Picasso - good single-page bio plus images (Dialogue Gallery)
Pablo
Picasso - 10 pages of thumbnail indexed images (Tanner Virtual Gallery)
Picasso:
Art Images, Page 1 of 16 (OCAIW)
Pablo
Picasso (Pace Wildenstein)
Picasso
and Portraiture (1996 N. Y. Museum of Modern Art exhibit - press release)
CNN
coverage of Picasso and Portraiture (Michael Okwu)
Picasso
Watches (Tell time with the "Bull Watch" or the "Guitar Watch" on your
wrist)
Picasso's
Bodegón de Ojen - 145K image and commentary in Spanish
Man
of a Thousand Faces (Susan Delson, Museums New York)
1925
- The Year in Review: Picasso (Mark Harden)
The
Illustrated Books and Minotauromachy (Patrick Cramer Publishing)
Terra
cotta tiles - 1971 (Art Vison International)
Marina
Picasso estate collection (PicassoWeb)
Bull
Plate and Vase (Galerie Woltjen)
Three
Picasso works - large image files (Andrew Brown)
Stone
Lithographs (The Electric Gallery)
Six
Lithographs (D. R. Walinski)
Recreation
of Picasso's Composition (D. G. Murray)
The
Art of Pablo Picasso (The Isle of Lesbos)
Cubism
(Asada Gallery)
Cubism
(University of Guadalajara)
