Pablo Ruiz Picasso (b. 1881, d. 1973) is probably the most important figure in 20th Century art
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (b. 1881, d. 1973) 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
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" 1905-06 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.
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 Velazquez , 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.
Bibliography
See biography by J. Richardson (Vol. I, 1991); catalog of his retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City (1980); biographical studies by G. Stein (1938), R. Penrose (1981), AS Huffington (1988), P. Daix (1993), and N. Mailer (1995); personal reminiscences by J. Sabertés (tr. 1948) and F. Oliver (1965, 1988); R. Penrose, The Sculpture of Picasso (1967); P. Daix and G. Boudaille, Picasso: The Blue and Rose Period (tr. 1967); D. Cooper, Picasso Theatre (1968); C. Czwiklitzer, Picasso's Posters (tr. 1971); JE Cirlot, Picasso: Birth of a Genius (1972); R. Penrose and J. Golding, ed., Picasso in Retrospect (1973); P. Leighton, Re-ordering the Universe: Picasso and Anarchism, 1897-1914 (1989); W. Rubin, H. Seckel, and J. Cousins, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1995); Mallen, Enrique, ed. Online Picasso Project. Sam Houston State University. Accessed 2014.
