Pablo Picasso (essay)

Pablo Ruiz y Picasso was a Spanish painter Born in Malaga, Spain, in 1881. Picasso had made a big change in art in the 20^th century. He is the most known artist in modern art; he was able to create anything artistic he could think of.  By the age of 13 he didn't want to know about school but instead, his sketch pad and pencil were his education. He used to sketch without stopping and after that he was enrolled into art school.

When he got older he moved to Paris, France so he could open his own studio. Picasso art is divided into distinct periods; in 1901-1904 there was the blue period where he used to paint everything in blue, with this colour he used to express his depression and loneliness.

Name: The old Guitarist
Year: 1903
Medium: Oil Paint 

Name: Femme Assise
Year: 1902-1903
Medium: Oil Paint 

Then in 1905-1906 there was the rose period, in this time he was using lighter colours on his palette and also using new technique like circus and jubilant motion. By time many artists went to visit his studio to see his extraordinary paintings. During that time he started experimenting in sculptures and other new styles that he had learned from other artists.

Name:  Nu aux mains serrées
Year: 1906

Name:  Les Baladins
Year: 1904-1905

Pablo Picasso was the creator of the new style called ‘cubism’; it was one of the driving forces during the 20^th century. This style had started when the artist was losing importance to mass and space and moved away from naturalism and beauty. His inspiration was taken from people outside of cafes in Paris which lead him to paint still life and portraits.

Name: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
Year: 1907

The portrait called ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’ was painted in 1907. It was one of Picasso masterpieces done in that time. But when people had seen it exhibited they saw it as if art in general had collapsed. This painting took Picasso about nine months to finish and showed how talented he really was and how he was able to follow his own path.

This painting took him a lot of studies and sketches to see how the final piece would really have ended. To do his painting he had to rent the basement in the same block where he was living. He wanted to be all on his own to have all the concentration he wanted.

He used to paint day and night with a small lamp beside him to give him the light he needed to work with. Due that it was also the summer season; you could imagine the heat he had in that room, because of that he painted the painting while he was naked.

His painting consists of warm colours like brown and dark orange: and also cold colours like peach, white, pink and blue. It is showing 5 female prostitutes posing naked. The figures don’t consist of soft curves and the detail of the skin which we find in average paintings but consist of hard painted curves and hard brush strokes. 

The faces look as they are inspired from African tribal masks and they don’t consist of proportional scale, instead they are varied in size and flatness. The woman sitting in the front has a rather unnatural position which is indicated by the face that is looking forward while her body is facing the opposite position.

Apart from the unrealistic human figures, he also painted the fruit that was among them. The hard edges and their colours make them look unreal and unappetizing. 

2009. Pablo Picasso Paintings, Quotes and Biography [online] Available at :  <http://www.pablopicasso.org/> [Accessed on 25th April, 2014].

2014. Bio [online] Available at :  <http://www.biography.com/people/pablo-picasso-9440021#awesm=~oCswstOFafqTyt> [Accessed on 25th April, 2014].