Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso
Picasso in 1908
Born	Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (1881-10-25)25 October 1881 Málaga,Spain
Died	8 April 1973(1973-04-08)(aged 91) Mougins,France
Resting place	Château of Vauvenargues

Pablo Picasso (1962)

Pablo Ruiz Picasso(October 25, 1881 – April 8, 1973) was aSpanishpainterandsculptor.He created over 20,000 works ofart.He was 91 when he died.

He is considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.He co-founded the style of art calledcubism.In cubist art, the artist breaks objects into pieces and reassembles them in abstract and geometric form.Picasso could draw and paint when he was very young. His first word waslápiz,the Spanish word for "pencil".

Perhaps his most famous painting isGuernica,which shows the horrors of war after the bombing of the town ofGuernica.He spent most of his life in France when he was an adult.

He was 90 years old when theLouvreinParisshowed many of his works. He was the first living artist to have an exhibition at the Louvre.

Picasso had four children with three women. He died ofheart failureinMougins,France,on April 8 1973.

Childhood

Pablo Picasso was born on October 25, 1881 inMálaga,Spain.His father was apainterand teacher José Ruiz Blasco and his mother was María Picasso López. Until 1898, he signed his pictures with the names of his father and of his mother. After around 1901, he only used his mother's name.At the age of eight, Picasso created his firstoil paintingcalled "The Picador". In 1891, Pablo moved with his family to Northern Spain, where his father taught at theInstituto da Guarda.One year later, Pablo studied at thisinstitute.Pablo's father was his teacher at this time.In 1896, he started to attend the art school inBarcelonaafter passing theentrance examination.One year later in 1897, Picasso started to study at theAcademia San FernandoinMadrid.In 1898, he left theacademyand went to a rest toHorta de Ebro.In 1900, he published his firstillustrationsin a newspaper inBarcelona.Thisexhibitionhad over 60 portraits.

Beginning of the career

Picasso first travelled toParisin 1900. In Paris, he lived with Max Jacob, a poet and journalist. When Max was working during the day, Pablo slept and when Max slept at night, Pablo worked.Lovers in the StreetandMoulin de la Galetteare examples of his Paris work from this time. Both pictures were painted in 1900.

He went back to Madrid in 1901 where he worked for a newspaper calledArte Joven.He was responsible forillustrations.At this time, he shortened hissignaturefrom "Pablo Ruiz y Picasso"to "Picasso". This is the time his so-calledBlue Periodstarted. The two 1903 paintings,The SoupandCrouching Woman,are examples. HisBlue Periodended in 1904 when he settled in Paris.

In 1905, Picasso made a trip toHolland.In the same year, Pablo's "Rosa Period" started. During this period, Picasso mostly paintedcircusperformers.Girl Balancing on a BallandThe Actorare two early paintings from this time. This period lasted until 1907.

Picasso'sCubismperiod started in 1909 and ended around 1912. This period was inspired by theFrenchpainterPaul Cézanne.This period is calledCubismbecause of the use ofcubesand other shapes. During this time, Picasso painted musical instruments,still lifeobjects, and also his friends.

Picasso had his first exhibition in theUnited Statesin 1911. One year later in 1912, he had his first exhibition inGreat Britain.Pablo's father died in May 1913.

During the First World War

From 1912 to 1919 was Picasso's so calledSynthetic Cubism Period.During this time, he started to usecollagesin his paintings.His works from this time are calledpapiers collés.He spent his time during theFirst World WarinRome.In 1914, Picasso spent the whole summer inAvignon.In 1915, he started to paintrealisticagain.At the end of 1915, his wife Eva died.During the World War, he also worked as a designer forSergey Diaghilev.

In 1917, Picasso met Olga Koklova, a Russiandancer.In the same year, he painted several realistic portraits of her and their friends. One year later, he married her.The last summer of the wartime, Picasso and his wife spent in Barcelona and Biarritz.

After the First World War

The paintingGuernicaby Pablo Picasso (1937) on a wall

In 1921, Picasso's son Paul was born. After this, he painted several paintings with his wife and his son.Paul was Picasso's only legitimate son (only son born to a woman he had married).In 1925, his art was in the firstSurrealistexhibition in Paris.Between 1924 and 1926, Picasso preferred to paintabstractstill lives.In 1927, he met Marie-Thérèse Walter. She became his model andmistress.In 1928, he began to make sculptural works.In 1931, he left his wife and moved with his mistress to Boisgeloup. There they lived in a country home. There, Picasso had a room for his sculptures only.Since 1932, he used Marie-Thérèse as a model.During atravelinSpain,he started to paintbullfights.In 1935, Picasso's daughter, Maïa, was born.At this time, he gotdivorcedfrom his wife because of the birth of Maïa.In 1936, Picasso got a job asdirectorof thePrado-MuseuminMadrid.During this time, theSpanish Civil Warstarted. Germanbombsfell onGuernicainSpainon 6 April 1937. Picasso used this impact to paint one of his most famous paintings,Guernica.This painting was completed in about 8 months. It was first shown in the Spanish Pavilion inParisin 1937.

During the Second World War

In 1938, Picasso's mother died. When theSecond World Warstarted on the 1st of September 1939, Picasso returned to Paris.Around 1943, he met the painterFrançoise Gilot.She bore him one son and one daughter.In 1941, he wrote his first play "Le désir attrapé par la queue" (English:Desire Caught by the Tail). It was first shown in 1944.Also in 1944, Picasso joined the communist Party.Picasso spent almost the fullwartime in Paris.

After the Second World War

After the liberation of Paris, Picasso resumed exhibiting his work, notably at the Salon d’Automne of 1944 ( “Salon de la Libération” ), where his canvases of the preceding five years were received as a shock. That plus the announcement that Picasso had just joined the Communist Party led to demonstrations against his political views in the gallery itself. At the same time, Picasso opened up his studio to both new and old writer and artist friends, including Jean-Paul Sartre, Pierre Reverdy, Éluard, the photographer Brassaï, the English artist Roland Penrose, and the American photographer Lee Miller, as well as many American GIs.

Death

On 28 April 1973, Pablo Picasso died due to heart failure at the age of 91 years in Mougins.

List (some of his works

• Guernica
• Woman with a Watch(original title,Femme a la montre)

Related pages

• List of Spanish painters