 PICASSOPablo Ruiz Picasso Málaga 1881- Mougins 1973 Me Picasso, 1901 (Self Portrait) Biography. |
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| Picasso Sculpture page | ||||
| FIRST COMMUNION
(1895-96) (Primera Comunión) Oil on canvas. Picasso Museum, Barcelona Pablo Picasso began painting at the early age of 11, when he was admitted to La Coruña Arts School. He started painting this picture at 14 and it shows mastery of color, composition and technique. Picasso himself said in his later years: "... at 15 I painted like Velazquez, and it took me 80 years to paint like a child...". Possibly both are true, but he really reflected the necessity to explore and innovate new artistic ways since the beginning of his career. |
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| WOMAN IN BLUE
(1901) (Mujer en Azul) Oil on canvas.133 X 100 cm. Reina Sofía National Museum When only 20 years old, Picasso began to escape from the academic ways and, while he studied in the San Fernando School of Fine Arts in Madrid, he set up a studio near Zurbano Street, where he painted this canvas with his innovate chromatic idea. He entered this work in a contest - National Art Exhibition -, but it was failed by the jury and left, forgotten, for a long time. The model´s mysterious eyes, her expressiveness, the exuberant dress and the two background colors, make a composition with a new style, with a new naturalist influence. |
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| THE LIFE
(1903) (La Vida) Oil on canvas. Cleveland Museum of Art. This is the most representative painting of his "blue period", which presents ordinary poverty-stricken people: skeletal forms, alcoholics, beggars, prostitutes. All of them in this style - which remind us of the compositions of that other genius, El Greco - are pictured with blue shades as the basis of the composition, which highlights the desolated atmosphere of the message. It was painted in Barcelona and we can see the road of life represented by a nude couple, which watch a mother with her baby, both dressed. In the background there are nude persons too, which depict the course of life towards loneliness in old age. Everything is surrounded by an atmosphere of melancholy, which was characteristic of this period. |
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| THE TRAGEDY
(1903) (La Tragedia) Oil on wood. 105 x 69 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Another "blue period" painting, in which the whole content is shown in its title. All characteristics of this period can be found in this work. Melancholy, misery, misfortune, all concentrated in the family, which gives even more dramatism. Blue colors and large shapes contribute to the coldness of the picture. |
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| FAMILY OF ACROBATS
(1905) (Familia de Saltimbanquis) Oil on canvas. 213 x 229 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. On his way to his "pink period", we see the begining of happier themes and expressions. Picasso often worked with circus subjects and acrobats. The characters´ faces in this picture still remain melancholic, but the lines, colors and brush-strokes indicate another more cheerful and dynamic spirit. |
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| LA TOILETTE
(1906) Oil on canvas. Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. In the middle of the "pink period" his paintings sold and he began to meet other painters who were to influence him, like Henri Matisse. Picasso still used simple two-shaded area backgrounds: the structure is the same, but changes in colors make it completely different. This is one of his first erotically themed pictures that he was later to paint in abundance. |
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| THE HAREM
(1906) (El Harén) Oil on canvas.154,3 x 109,5 cm. Cleveland Museum of Art. Ohio. Also belonging to his "pink period" but in its latter moments, this picture is considered by reviewers to be the predecessor of "Les demoiselles D'Avignon". The Herculean figure of the man eating with the wine jug who is looking at the object of desire: the woman, who is the subject of the picture. An old woman appears in the background representing "La Celesina". Central women, combing their hair, dancing or washing themselves are the main point of interest for the other two characters. In "Les demoiselles D'Avignon" this role is given to the onlooker. |
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| LES DEMOISELLES D'AVIGNON
(1907) (Las Señoritas de Avignon) Oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Primitive and classical, Greek and African influences show up in Picasso, emerging as a new concept of pictorial structure: "Cubism". This is the first example of a new style that a lot of other painters would follow. Softness and sensibility traditionally used in female nudes change suddenly into tough angles and planes, barely understood by critics of this time. This was, without doubt, the beginning for Picasso and for a lot of other artists who displayed this cubism style. This is taken to be one of the most important art movements of the 20th century. In spite of being the most extended theory, there are many differences of opinion about this picture being included as representing cubism, pre-cubism or pre-abstract. It is also a controversial theme, because of the appearance of male figures in his previous drawings - those of a sailor and a student. This possibly led to the creation of one of his "pink period" paintings, "The Harem", in which the theme is probably the view of a brothel. In "The Harem" Picasso painted males and in "Les Demoiselles D´Avignon" decided to paint only women in a "showcase", allowing the onlooker to share actively with the participants in the picture. Primitivism is very clear in the women´s faces, who are situated on the left of the picture. Reference is also made to the "black" sculpture. The two women situated in the middle are influenced by this Iberian art. |
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| STILL LIFE (Dead birds) (1912) (Los Pájaros muertos) Oil on canvas. (46 x 65 cm.) Reina Sofía National Museum Cubism; dislocated forms, angles, many superpositioned planes, refferences to reality... Picasso and George Braque initiated and studied this style and there's no doubt about the painter from Malaga's better works. This picture is one of them, from the last stage of cubist creation. Main characters - dead birds - are hard to find, feathers appear in different planes, beaks, feet mixed with elements that approach reality, like newspaper headlines or isolated texts. |
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| THE BREAD FLUTE (1923) (La Flauta de Pan) Oil on canvas. (205 x 174,5 cm.) Picasso Museum. Paris The art world turned to a more classical and real concept after World War I. Figuration came back and human figure was brought out again. Picasso showed proof of it in this picture. Figures and scene with big stone blocks recall Greek classicism, but with Mediterranean light, sky and sea. Picasso also continued with cubist works, his creative genius didn´t let him move back, but always evolving and innovating. |
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| INSTRUMENTS DE MUSIQUE SUR UNE TABLE
(1925) (Instrumentos de música sobre una mesa) Oil on canvas. (162 x 204,5 cm.) Reina Sofía National Museum Picasso's evolution is obvious, painting more classical works while using pseudocubist innovations. The friendly relationship Picasso-Miró, is reflected in his pictures; and we can see too in his works, the common investigation between both artists, which Miró gives so far. This picture clearly displays this tendency. |
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| BUSTE ET PALETTE
(1925) (Busto y paleta) Oil on canvas. (54 x 65,5 cm.) Reina Sofía National Museum A little time before the begining of the surrealism movement, which Picasso "escaped" in spite of trying to include him in it, he worked on pictures with difficult definition. This case is a simple composition of a still life, the pricipal elements of which don´t disturb the intenseness of the background - window and grille - with its very aggressive line drawing. |
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| FIGURE
(1928) Oil on canvas. (73 x 60 cm.) Reina Sofía National Museum Picasso continued with his new ideas and influences, the simplicity of lines and colors, and his decorative art. This picture is an expressive invasion from his temporary artistic periods. |
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| LA NAGEUSE
(1934) Charcoal on canvas. (182 x 216 cm.) Reina Sofía National Museum In this picture we can see expressive forms which Picasso would adopt in the "Guernica". The artist´s drawing is very much based on this work (cubism, involved forms, light...). These elements make a basically expressive style, ideal for transmitting ideas and emotions. |
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| GUERNICA
(1937) Oil on canvas (349 x 776 cm) Reina Sofía National Museum This is more a cartoon on canvas than a picture. A cartoon without text because everything "is written" in this image. Picasso (later affiliated to the French Communist Party) was a defendant of the Spanish Republic, which made him a loyal artist, well-know all over the world. In fact, in January 1937, the picture was commissioned by the Republican government to decorate the Spanish stand at the 1937 Universal Exhibition in Paris, with a clear propaganda context. That's why the painting is so big: it was to be admired by a lot of people at the same time in a scene that wasn't like a showing. Two months later the terrible bombing of Guernica took place (26th April 1937) and it was turned into the ideal subject for the picture. But curiously and thanks to the painter's great ability there are no signs of war in it, no bombs, nor soldiers or guns. The main subjects are from bullfighting: horse and bull in a moment of bullfighting and a fugitive mother with her dead son in her arms. As usual of Picasso, his private life is reflected in his artistic themes. In this case and due to its political undertone, it caused great controversy, though years later this painting became a pacifist manifesto. Picasso took a month in finishing the picture, which was made in black and grey tones to emphasize dramatism and highlight the message. Short of time, he used sketches from his previous works to get the painting finished quickly. His partner at that time, photographer Dora Maar, took photographs of the process of development of the painting. Today, this painting is fundamental to Modern Art and anyone who looks at it closely cannot be left feeling indifferent |
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| HORSE HEAD
(1937) (Cabeza de Caballlo) Oil on canvas (65 x 92 cm) Reina Sofía National Museum STUDY (HORSE HEAD) (1937) Estudio (Cabeza de Caballlo) Grafito on blue paper. (26,6 x 21 cm) Reina Sofía National Museum |
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| MOTHER WITH DEAD CHILD
(1937) (Madre con Niño Muerto) Colour bar, graphite and oil on canvas (55 x 46 cm) Reina Sofía National Museum Another study of Guernica. A big difference can be seen between Picasso's first studies and the final result. The previous works are much more complicated, with more lines, planes and even in color. The reason for this later simplification, was to make the different studies suitable for a huge cartoon, in which details would go unnoticed. |
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| WOMAN SITTING ON AN ARMCHAIR
(1939) (Femme assise dans un fatuteuil gris) Oil on canvas (130 x 97 cm) Reina Sofía National Museum Picasso makes use of this theme - woman sitting in an armchair - as a model for several womens´ portraits. Influences of works made for Guernica can be seen in this picture: exessive deformation of the face with round shapes and the body formed with rectangular colored masses. Influence of the Spanish Civil War is also obvious in this work, where facial expression is quite dramatic. |
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| STILL LIFE
(1944) (Naturaleza Muerta) Oil on canvas (81 x 100 cm) Reina Sofía National Museum At the same time as Picasso began enthusiastically making lithographs, he painted classical-theme works, fundamentally, still lifes. Color reappears in this painting, with contrasted basic shades. The picture is dramatically divided in two by the use of light, the upper part lit and the lower one shaded. |
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| THE MAIDS OF HONOUR
(1957) (Las Meninas) Oil on canvas (194 x 260 cm) Picasso Museum, Barcelona. In the mid 50's, Picasso began to do studies of classics and painted a series of art history´s great paintings. He chose "Las Meninas" by Velázquez. Other examples of this time are Manet's "Breakfast on the Grass" or David's "Sobbins' Kidnapping" . We can´t say that this is the final picture of "The Maids of Honour", because he made more than 50 versions of this study. His interpretations are so bold: the horizontal format, not vertical as in the original picture, to include more narrative elements and new characters, like Jaqueline´s portrait, his partner at that time, doves... His admiration for Velázquez is obvious, whose figure is enormous, from the base to the top of the picture. He is the pricipal theme of the painting. To Picasso, the painter was more important than his pictures, however special they may be. As a curiosity, Picasso began"The Maids of Honour"study in August and finished in December 1957, during which time nobody saw it except Jacqueline. |
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| THE PAINTER AND THE MODEL
(1963) (El Pintor y la Modelo) Oil on canvas (130 x 195 cm) Reina Sofía National Museum Most of Picasso´s colourist works were painted from 1960 in Nòtre-Dame-de-Vie, where he settled down. As shown in this picture with ridiculous faces, he had the skill of transmitting the painting´s main character´s feelings. It could possibly be the interpretation of a period of his private life, with characters - painter and model - and situations of his own setting. |
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