Pablo Picasso
Born – Malaga, Spain 1881
Died – Mougins, France 1973
Pablo Picasso’s painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon marks the beginning of Cubism, a revolutionary artistic movement initiated by Picasso and his fellow artist Georges Braque. Picasso first started work on this painting in his Parisian studio in 1906. The final composition shows clearly the influence of both Cézanne, who had famously declared that all nature was based on the sphere, the cylinder and the cone, and the simple forms that Picasso, had founding African art. The right-hand side of the painting, in particular, with its flat shapes and mask-like heads, shows what a dramatic break with tradition this was. Although Picasso is primarily associated with Cubism, his so-called Blue period, with its melancholic depiction of lowlife, was another significant early phase in his development. From 1914 onwards, his work evolved in many other directions. Paintings, drawings, collages, etchings, sculptures, stage design and ceramics, were produced at an astonishing rate with subjects as diverse as classical mythology and the horrors of war. After exhibiting with the Surrealists in 1925, he continued to experiment with characteristic energy and confidence until his death, ages ninety two, in 1973. He was indisputably a genius and the founder of modern art.
Masterpieces:
- Guernica
- Weeping Woman
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About pablo picasso
A Life of Picasso: The Prodigy, 1881-1906
John Richardson
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Who Was Pablo Picasso?
True Kelley
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Picasso (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists)
Mike Venezia
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