Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Pablo Picasso" - New World
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[[Image:PabloPicasso1916 (photo).jpg|thumb|right|Young Pablo Picasso]] | [[Image:PabloPicasso1916 (photo).jpg|thumb|right|Young Pablo Picasso]] | ||
| − | '''Pablo Picasso''' (October 25, 1881 – April 8, 1973) was a [[Spain|Spanish]] [[painter]] and [[Sculpture|sculptor]]. One of the most recognized figures in | + | '''Pablo Picasso''' (October 25, 1881 – April 8, 1973) was a [[Spain|Spanish]] [[painter]] and [[Sculpture|sculptor]]. One of the most recognized figures in twentieth century [[art]], he is best known as the co-founder, along with Georges Braque, of [[cubism]]. Cubism is perhaps the quintessential [[modernism|modernist]] artist movement. In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to present the piece in a greater context. Often the surfaces intersect at seemingly random angles presenting no coherent sense of depth. The background and object (or figure) planes interpenetrate one another to create the ambiguous shallow space characteristic of cubism. The larger cultural significance of cubism pertains to the disintegration of a unified sense of the world that had pervaded pre-modern [[Europe]]an [[Christian]] culture. |
| − | It has been estimated that Picasso produced about 13,500 paintings or designs, 100,000 prints or engravings, 34,000 book illustrations and 300 sculptures or ceramics. | + | It has been estimated that Picasso produced about 13,500 paintings or designs, 100,000 prints or engravings, 34,000 book illustrations, and 300 sculptures or ceramics. |
== Picasso's work == | == Picasso's work == | ||
| − | Picasso's work is often categorized into "periods" | + | Picasso's work is often categorized into "periods." While the names of many of his later periods are debated, the most commonly accepted periods in his work are: |
| − | *Blue Period ( | + | *Blue Period (1901–1904), consisting of somber, blue paintings influenced by a trip through Spain and the recent suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas, often featuring depictions of acrobats, harlequins, prostitutes, beggars, and other [[artist]]s. |
| − | *Rose Period ( | + | *Rose Period (1905–1907), characterized by a more cheery style with orange and pink colors, and again featuring many harlequins. He met Fernande Olivier, a model for sculptors and artists, in Paris at this time, and many of these paintings are influenced by his warm relationship with her, in addition to his exposure to French painting. |
| − | *African-influenced Period ( | + | *African-influenced Period (1908–1909), influenced by the two figures on the right in his painting, ''Les Demoiselles d'Avignon,'' which were themselves inspired by African artifacts and masks. |
| − | *Analytic Cubism ( | + | *Analytic Cubism (1909–1912), a style of painting he developed along with Braque using monochrome brownish colors, in which objects are taken apart and their shape "analyzed." Picasso and Braque's paintings at this time are very similar to each other. |
| − | *Synthetic Cubism ( | + | *Synthetic Cubism (1912–1919), in which cut paper, often wallpaper or fragments of newspaper, are pasted into compositions, marking the first use of [[collage]] in fine art. |
==Career== | ==Career== | ||
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'''Pablo Picasso''' was born in Malaga, [[Spain]], the first child of José Ruiz y Blasco and María Picasso y López. | '''Pablo Picasso''' was born in Malaga, [[Spain]], the first child of José Ruiz y Blasco and María Picasso y López. | ||
| − | Picasso's father was a | + | Picasso's father was a [[paint]]er whose specialty was the naturalistic depiction of [[bird]]s, and who for most of his life was also a professor of [[art]] at the School of Crafts and a curator of a local [[museum]]. The young Picasso showed a passion and a skill for drawing from an early age; according to his mother, his first word was "piz," a shortening of ''lapiz,'' the [[Spain|Spanish]] word for pencil.<ref>Robert Hughes, [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,905485,00.html “Anatomy of a Minotaur,”] ''Time Magazine,'' Nov. 1, 1971. Retrieved June 28, 2007.</ref> It was from his father that Picasso had his first formal academic art training, such as figure drawing and painting in [[oil]]. Although Picasso attended [[carpentry|carpenter]] schools throughout his childhood, often those where his father taught, he never finished his college-level course of study at the Academy of Arts (''Academia de San Fernando'') in [[Madrid]], leaving after less than a year. |
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| − | Picasso used harlequins in many of his early works, especially in his Blue and Rose Periods. A comedic character usually depicted in checkered patterned clothing, the harlequin became a personal symbol for Picasso. During the 1930s, the | + | Picasso used harlequins in many of his early works, especially in his Blue and Rose Periods. A comedic character usually depicted in checkered patterned clothing, the harlequin became a personal symbol for Picasso. During the 1930s, the Minotaur replaced the harlequin as a motif which he used often in his work. His use of the Minotaur came partly from his contact with the [[surrealism|surrealists]], who often used it as their symbol, and it appears in Picasso's well-known painting, ''Guernica.'' |
===Pacifism=== | ===Pacifism=== | ||
| − | Picasso remained neutral during the [[Spanish Civil War]], [[World War I]] and [[World War II]], refusing to fight for any side or country. Picasso never commented on this but encouraged the idea that it was because he was a [[pacifism|pacifist]]. Some of his contemporaries though (including Braque) felt that this neutrality had more to do with cowardice than principle. | + | Picasso remained neutral during the [[Spanish Civil War]], [[World War I]], and [[World War II]], refusing to fight for any side or country. Picasso never commented on this but encouraged the idea that it was because he was a [[pacifism|pacifist]]. Some of his contemporaries though (including [[Georges Braque|Braque]]) felt that this neutrality had more to do with cowardice than principle. |
| − | As a Spanish citizen living in [[France]], Picasso was under no compulsion to fight against the invading Germans in either world war. In the [[Spanish Civil War]], service for Spaniards living abroad was optional and would have involved a voluntary return to the country to join either side. While Picasso expressed anger and condemnation of [[Francisco Franco|Franco]] and the [[Fascism|Fascists]] through his art, he did not take up arms against them. | + | As a Spanish citizen living in [[France]], Picasso was under no compulsion to fight against the invading [[Germany|Germans]] in either world war. In the [[Spanish Civil War]], service for Spaniards living abroad was optional and would have involved a voluntary return to the country to join either side. While Picasso expressed anger and condemnation of [[Francisco Franco|Franco]] and the [[Fascism|Fascists]] through his art, he did not take up arms against them. |
| − | He also remained aloof from the [[Catalonia|Catalan]] independence movement during his youth despite expressing general support for the movement and was friendly | + | He also remained aloof from the [[Catalonia|Catalan]] independence movement during his youth despite expressing general support for the movement and was friendly toward its activists. No political movement seemed to compel his support to any great degree, though he did become a member of the [[Communist Party]]. |
| − | During the Second World War, Picasso remained in Paris when the Germans occupied the city. The Nazis hated his style of painting, so he was not able to show his works during this time. Retreating to his studio, he continued to paint all the while. When the Germans outlawed bronze casting in Paris, Picasso was still able to continue using bronze smuggled to him by the French resistance. | + | During the Second World War, Picasso remained in Paris when the Germans occupied the city. The Nazis hated his style of painting, so he was not able to show his works during this time. Retreating to his studio, he continued to paint all the while. When the Germans outlawed [[bronze]] casting in Paris, Picasso was still able to continue using bronze smuggled to him by the French resistance. |
| − | Arguably Picasso's most famous work is his depiction of the | + | Arguably Picasso's most famous work is his depiction of the German bombing of Guernica. This large canvas embodies for many the inhumanity, brutality, and hopelessness of [[war]]. The act of painting was captured in a series of photographs by Picasso's most famous lover, Dora Maar, a distinguished artist in her own right. ''Guernica'' hung in New York's [[Museum of Modern Art]] for many years. In 1981 ''Guernica'' was returned to Spain and exhibited at the ''Casón del Buen Retiro.'' In 1992 the painting was displayed at the opening of Madrid's Reina Sofía Museum. |
After the Second World War, Picasso rejoined the [[French Communist Party]], and even attended an international peace conference in [[Poland]]. But party criticism of him toward a portrait of [[Stalin]] judged as insufficiently realistic cooled Picasso's interest in Communist politics, though he remained a loyal member of the Communist Party until his death. His beliefs tended towards [[anarcho-communism]]. | After the Second World War, Picasso rejoined the [[French Communist Party]], and even attended an international peace conference in [[Poland]]. But party criticism of him toward a portrait of [[Stalin]] judged as insufficiently realistic cooled Picasso's interest in Communist politics, though he remained a loyal member of the Communist Party until his death. His beliefs tended towards [[anarcho-communism]]. | ||
| + | [[Image:Stein by picasso.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Picasso's friend [[Gertrude Stein]], who had more than 80 sittings for this 1906 portrait.]] | ||
===Personal life=== | ===Personal life=== | ||
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In [[Paris]], Picasso entertained a distinguished coterie of friends in the Montmartre and Montparnasse quarters, including [[André Breton]], [[Guillaume Apollinaire]], and writer [[Gertrude Stein]]. He maintained a number of mistresses in addition to his wife or primary partner. Picasso was married twice and had four children by three women. | In [[Paris]], Picasso entertained a distinguished coterie of friends in the Montmartre and Montparnasse quarters, including [[André Breton]], [[Guillaume Apollinaire]], and writer [[Gertrude Stein]]. He maintained a number of mistresses in addition to his wife or primary partner. Picasso was married twice and had four children by three women. | ||
| − | + | Among Picasso’s many lovers are: | |
| − | + | *Fernande Olivier, who appears in many Rose period paintings | |
| − | + | *Marcelle Humbert (Eva), who had a great influence in many of Picasso’s cubist works | |
| − | + | *Olga Khokhlova, first wife and mother of Picasso’s first child, Paulo | |
| − | + | *Marie-Thérèse Walter, mother of his second child, Maia | |
| − | + | * Dora Maar, photographer who documented the painting Guernica | |
| − | + | *Françoise Gilot, second wife and mother of Picasso’s two children, Claude and Paloma | |
| − | + | *Jacqueline Roque, third wife who remained by Picasso’s side until his death | |
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===Later works=== | ===Later works=== | ||
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Picasso was one of 250 sculptors who exhibited in the 3rd Sculpture International held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the summer of 1949. | Picasso was one of 250 sculptors who exhibited in the 3rd Sculpture International held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the summer of 1949. | ||
| − | In the 1950s Picasso's style changed once again, as he took to producing reinterpretations of the art of the great masters. He made a series of works based on [[Velazquez]]'s painting of ''Las Meninas'' | + | In the 1950s Picasso's style changed once again, as he took to producing reinterpretations of the art of the great masters. He made a series of works based on [[Velazquez]]'s painting of ''Las Meninas.'' He also based paintings on works of art by [[Goya]], [[Poussin]], [[Édouard Manet|Manet]], [[Courbet]], and [[Delacroix]]. During this time he lived at Cannes and in 1955 helped make the film ''Le Mystère Picasso'' ''(The Mystery of Picasso)'' directed by [[Henri-Georges Clouzot]]. |
| − | + | In addition to his manifold artistic accomplishments, Picasso had a film career, including a cameo appearance in Jean Cocteau's ''Testament of Orpheus.'' Picasso always played himself in his film appearances. | |
| − | Picasso had | + | From the media he received much attention, though there was often as much interest in his personal life as his art. |
[[Image:Chicago picasso.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px|Picasso sculpture in [[Chicago]].]] | [[Image:Chicago picasso.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px|Picasso sculpture in [[Chicago]].]] | ||
| − | He was commissioned to make a maquette for a huge 50 foot high public sculpture to be built in [[Chicago]], known usually as the ''Chicago Picasso'' | + | He was commissioned to make a maquette for a huge 50 foot high public sculpture to be built in [[Chicago]], known usually as the ''Chicago Picasso.'' He approached the project with a great deal of enthusiasm, designing a sculpture which was ambiguous and somewhat controversial. What the figure represents is not known; it could be a bird, a horse, a woman, or a completely abstract shape. The sculpture, one of the most recognizable landmarks in downtown Chicago, was unveiled in 1967. Picasso refused to be paid $100,000 for it, donating it to the people of the city. |
| − | Picasso's final works were a mixture of styles, his means of expression in constant flux until the end of his life. Devoting his full energies to his work, Picasso became more daring, his works more | + | Picasso's final works were a mixture of styles, his means of expression in constant flux until the end of his life. Devoting his full energies to his work, Picasso became more daring, his works more colorful and expressive, and from 1968 through 1971 he produced a torrent of paintings and hundreds of copperplate etchings. At the time these works were dismissed by most as pornographic fantasies of an impotent old man or the slapdash works of an artist who was past his prime. One long time admirer, Douglas Cooper, called them "the incoherent scribblings of a frenetic old man." Only later, after Picasso's death, when the rest of the art world had moved on from abstract expressionism, did the critical community come to see that Picasso had already discovered [[neo-expressionism]] and was, as so often before, ahead of his time. |
| − | Pablo Picasso died on April 8, 1973 in Mougins, [[France]], and was interred at Castle Vauvenargues' park, in Vauvenargues, Bouches-du-Rhône. | + | Pablo Picasso died on April 8, 1973 in Mougins, [[France]], and was interred at Castle Vauvenargues' park, in Vauvenargues, Bouches-du-Rhône. |
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
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At the time of his death many of his paintings were in his possession, as he had kept off the art market what he didn't need to sell. In addition, Picasso had a considerable collection of the work of other famous artists, some his contemporaries, such as [[Henri Matisse]], with whom he had exchanged works. Since Picasso left no will, his death duties (estate tax) to the French state were paid in the form of his works and others from his collection. These works form the core of the immense and representative collection of the Musée Picasso in Paris. In 2003, relatives of Picasso inaugurated a museum dedicated to him in his birthplace, Málaga, Spain, the Museo Picasso Málaga. | At the time of his death many of his paintings were in his possession, as he had kept off the art market what he didn't need to sell. In addition, Picasso had a considerable collection of the work of other famous artists, some his contemporaries, such as [[Henri Matisse]], with whom he had exchanged works. Since Picasso left no will, his death duties (estate tax) to the French state were paid in the form of his works and others from his collection. These works form the core of the immense and representative collection of the Musée Picasso in Paris. In 2003, relatives of Picasso inaugurated a museum dedicated to him in his birthplace, Málaga, Spain, the Museo Picasso Málaga. | ||
| − | + | Picasso received numerous tributes and awards following his death and some paintings by him rank among the most expensive paintings in the world. | |
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[[Image:L'Accordéoniste.jpg|thumb|right|175px|''L'Accordéoniste'', a 1911 cubist painting by Picasso.]] | [[Image:L'Accordéoniste.jpg|thumb|right|175px|''L'Accordéoniste'', a 1911 cubist painting by Picasso.]] | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
| − | + | *Kobi Ledor, MD. [http://ledorfineart.com/forum.html "A Guide to Collecting Picasso's Prints."] | |
| − | *Kobi Ledor, MD. | + | *Mallen, Enrique. ''The Visual Grammar of Pablo Picasso,'' vol. 54, ''Berkeley Insights in Linguistics & Semiotics Series.'' Berlin: Peter Lang, 2003. |
| − | *Enrique | + | *Mallen, Enrique. ''La Sintaxis de la Carne: Pablo Picasso y Marie-Thérèse Walter.'' Santiago de Chile: Red Internacional del Libro, 2005. |
| − | *Enrique | + | *Picasso, Olivier Widmaier. ''Picasso: The Real Family Story.'' Prestel, 2004. ISBN 3791331493 |
| − | *Olivier Widmaier | + | *Rubin, William, ed. ''Pablo Picasso, a retrospective.'' chronology by Jane Fluegel. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1980. ISBN 0870705199 |
| − | *William | ||
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== External links == | == External links == | ||
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'''Museums:''' | '''Museums:''' | ||
| − | * [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pica/hd_pica.htm Pablo Picasso at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York] | + | * [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pica/hd_pica.htm Pablo Picasso at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | * [http://www.smb.spk-berlin.de/smb/sammlungen/details.php?objectId=22&lang=en Museum Berggruen (Berlin, Germany)] | + | * [http://www.smb.spk-berlin.de/smb/sammlungen/details.php?objectId=22&lang=en Museum Berggruen (Berlin, Germany)] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | * [http://www.museopicassomalaga.org/ Museo Picasso Málaga (Málaga, Spain)] | + | * [http://www.museopicassomalaga.org/ Museo Picasso Málaga (Málaga, Spain)] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | * [http://www.museupicasso.bcn.es/ Museu Picasso (Barcelona, Spain)] | + | * [http://www.museupicasso.bcn.es/ Museu Picasso (Barcelona, Spain)] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | * [http://www.musee-picasso.fr/ Musée National Picasso (Paris, France)] | + | * [http://www.musee-picasso.fr/ Musée National Picasso (Paris, France)] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | * [http://www.antibes-juanlespins.com/fr/culture/musees/picasso/ Musée Picasso (Antibes, France)] | + | * [http://www.antibes-juanlespins.com/fr/culture/musees/picasso/ Musée Picasso (Antibes, France)] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | * [http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_bio_126.html Guggenheim Museum Biography] | + | * [http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_bio_126.html Guggenheim Museum Biography] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | * [http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/psearch?Request=A&Person=24750 National Gallery of Art] list of paintings | + | * [http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/psearch?Request=A&Person=24750 National Gallery of Art] list of paintings. Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | * [http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A4609&page_number=1&template_id=6&sort_order=1/ Pablo Picasso at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)] | + | * [http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A4609&page_number=1&template_id=6&sort_order=1/ Pablo Picasso at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
'''Online galleries:''' | '''Online galleries:''' | ||
| − | * [http://picasso.tamu.edu/ On-Line Picasso Project]: Comprehensive summary of his life and his work. | + | * [http://picasso.tamu.edu/ On-Line Picasso Project]: Comprehensive summary of his life and his work. Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | * [http://www.malarze.walhalla.pl/galeria.php5?art=11 Pablo Picasso Art Gallery] | + | * [http://www.malarze.walhalla.pl/galeria.php5?art=11 Pablo Picasso Art Gallery] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | * [http://www.privateartcollection.net/pac/display/artist.do?groupid=&grouptype=&aoid=&artisttype=&aotype=&lang=en_EN&sort=&artistao=all&genericid=&artistid=A00000LQ Pablo Picasso's paintings in the Private Art Collection] | + | * [http://www.privateartcollection.net/pac/display/artist.do?groupid=&grouptype=&aoid=&artisttype=&aotype=&lang=en_EN&sort=&artistao=all&genericid=&artistid=A00000LQ Pablo Picasso's paintings in the Private Art Collection] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | + | *[http://www.abcgallery.com/P/picasso/picasso.html Picasso at Olga's Gallery] Retrieved June 28, 2007. | |
| − | *[http://www.abcgallery.com/P/picasso/picasso.html Picasso at Olga's Gallery] | + | *[http://www.halter.net/gallery/picasso-sp.html Pablo Picasso: A Virtual Art Gallery] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | *[http://www.halter.net/gallery/picasso-sp.html Pablo Picasso: A Virtual Art Gallery] | ||
'''Essays:''' | '''Essays:''' | ||
| − | * [http://www.aestheticrealism.org/News-ck.htm ''Power and Tenderness in Men and in Picasso's 'Minotauromachy' '' by Chaim Koppelman] | + | * [http://www.aestheticrealism.org/News-ck.htm ''Power and Tenderness in Men and in Picasso's 'Minotauromachy' '' by Chaim Koppelman] Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
| − | * [http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/picasso.htm Federal Bureau of Investigation files]: Summary of FBI investigation of Picasso | + | * [http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/picasso.htm Federal Bureau of Investigation files]: Summary of FBI investigation of Picasso. Retrieved June 28, 2007. |
[[category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]] | [[category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]] | ||
Revision as of 17:22, 28 June 2007
File:PabloPicasso1916 (photo).jpg
Young Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso (October 25, 1881 – April 8, 1973) was a Spanish painter and sculptor. One of the most recognized figures in twentieth century art, he is best known as the co-founder, along with Georges Braque, of cubism. Cubism is perhaps the quintessential modernist artist movement. In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to present the piece in a greater context. Often the surfaces intersect at seemingly random angles presenting no coherent sense of depth. The background and object (or figure) planes interpenetrate one another to create the ambiguous shallow space characteristic of cubism. The larger cultural significance of cubism pertains to the disintegration of a unified sense of the world that had pervaded pre-modern European Christian culture.
It has been estimated that Picasso produced about 13,500 paintings or designs, 100,000 prints or engravings, 34,000 book illustrations, and 300 sculptures or ceramics.
Picasso's work
Picasso's work is often categorized into "periods." While the names of many of his later periods are debated, the most commonly accepted periods in his work are:
- Blue Period (1901–1904), consisting of somber, blue paintings influenced by a trip through Spain and the recent suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas, often featuring depictions of acrobats, harlequins, prostitutes, beggars, and other artists.
- Rose Period (1905–1907), characterized by a more cheery style with orange and pink colors, and again featuring many harlequins. He met Fernande Olivier, a model for sculptors and artists, in Paris at this time, and many of these paintings are influenced by his warm relationship with her, in addition to his exposure to French painting.
- African-influenced Period (1908–1909), influenced by the two figures on the right in his painting, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which were themselves inspired by African artifacts and masks.
- Analytic Cubism (1909–1912), a style of painting he developed along with Braque using monochrome brownish colors, in which objects are taken apart and their shape "analyzed." Picasso and Braque's paintings at this time are very similar to each other.
- Synthetic Cubism (1912–1919), in which cut paper, often wallpaper or fragments of newspaper, are pasted into compositions, marking the first use of collage in fine art.
Career
Early life
File:Autoportrait mal coiffe.jpg
An 1896 self-portrait.
Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain, the first child of José Ruiz y Blasco and María Picasso y López.
Picasso's father was a painter whose specialty was the naturalistic depiction of birds, and who for most of his life was also a professor of art at the School of Crafts and a curator of a local museum. The young Picasso showed a passion and a skill for drawing from an early age; according to his mother, his first word was "piz," a shortening of lapiz, the Spanish word for pencil.[1] It was from his father that Picasso had his first formal academic art training, such as figure drawing and painting in oil. Although Picasso attended carpenter schools throughout his childhood, often those where his father taught, he never finished his college-level course of study at the Academy of Arts (Academia de San Fernando) in Madrid, leaving after less than a year.
Picasso used harlequins in many of his early works, especially in his Blue and Rose Periods. A comedic character usually depicted in checkered patterned clothing, the harlequin became a personal symbol for Picasso. During the 1930s, the Minotaur replaced the harlequin as a motif which he used often in his work. His use of the Minotaur came partly from his contact with the surrealists, who often used it as their symbol, and it appears in Picasso's well-known painting, Guernica.
Pacifism
Picasso remained neutral during the Spanish Civil War, World War I, and World War II, refusing to fight for any side or country. Picasso never commented on this but encouraged the idea that it was because he was a pacifist. Some of his contemporaries though (including Braque) felt that this neutrality had more to do with cowardice than principle. As a Spanish citizen living in France, Picasso was under no compulsion to fight against the invading Germans in either world war. In the Spanish Civil War, service for Spaniards living abroad was optional and would have involved a voluntary return to the country to join either side. While Picasso expressed anger and condemnation of Franco and the Fascists through his art, he did not take up arms against them.
He also remained aloof from the Catalan independence movement during his youth despite expressing general support for the movement and was friendly toward its activists. No political movement seemed to compel his support to any great degree, though he did become a member of the Communist Party.
During the Second World War, Picasso remained in Paris when the Germans occupied the city. The Nazis hated his style of painting, so he was not able to show his works during this time. Retreating to his studio, he continued to paint all the while. When the Germans outlawed bronze casting in Paris, Picasso was still able to continue using bronze smuggled to him by the French resistance.
Arguably Picasso's most famous work is his depiction of the German bombing of Guernica. This large canvas embodies for many the inhumanity, brutality, and hopelessness of war. The act of painting was captured in a series of photographs by Picasso's most famous lover, Dora Maar, a distinguished artist in her own right. Guernica hung in New York's Museum of Modern Art for many years. In 1981 Guernica was returned to Spain and exhibited at the Casón del Buen Retiro. In 1992 the painting was displayed at the opening of Madrid's Reina Sofía Museum.
After the Second World War, Picasso rejoined the French Communist Party, and even attended an international peace conference in Poland. But party criticism of him toward a portrait of Stalin judged as insufficiently realistic cooled Picasso's interest in Communist politics, though he remained a loyal member of the Communist Party until his death. His beliefs tended towards anarcho-communism.
File:Stein by picasso.jpg
Picasso's friend Gertrude Stein, who had more than 80 sittings for this 1906 portrait.
Personal life
In Paris, Picasso entertained a distinguished coterie of friends in the Montmartre and Montparnasse quarters, including André Breton, Guillaume Apollinaire, and writer Gertrude Stein. He maintained a number of mistresses in addition to his wife or primary partner. Picasso was married twice and had four children by three women. Among Picasso’s many lovers are:
- Fernande Olivier, who appears in many Rose period paintings
- Marcelle Humbert (Eva), who had a great influence in many of Picasso’s cubist works
- Olga Khokhlova, first wife and mother of Picasso’s first child, Paulo
- Marie-Thérèse Walter, mother of his second child, Maia
- Dora Maar, photographer who documented the painting Guernica
- Françoise Gilot, second wife and mother of Picasso’s two children, Claude and Paloma
- Jacqueline Roque, third wife who remained by Picasso’s side until his death
Later works
Picasso was one of 250 sculptors who exhibited in the 3rd Sculpture International held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the summer of 1949. In the 1950s Picasso's style changed once again, as he took to producing reinterpretations of the art of the great masters. He made a series of works based on Velazquez's painting of Las Meninas. He also based paintings on works of art by Goya, Poussin, Manet, Courbet, and Delacroix. During this time he lived at Cannes and in 1955 helped make the film Le Mystère Picasso (The Mystery of Picasso) directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. In addition to his manifold artistic accomplishments, Picasso had a film career, including a cameo appearance in Jean Cocteau's Testament of Orpheus. Picasso always played himself in his film appearances. From the media he received much attention, though there was often as much interest in his personal life as his art.
Picasso sculpture in Chicago.
He was commissioned to make a maquette for a huge 50 foot high public sculpture to be built in Chicago, known usually as the Chicago Picasso. He approached the project with a great deal of enthusiasm, designing a sculpture which was ambiguous and somewhat controversial. What the figure represents is not known; it could be a bird, a horse, a woman, or a completely abstract shape. The sculpture, one of the most recognizable landmarks in downtown Chicago, was unveiled in 1967. Picasso refused to be paid $100,000 for it, donating it to the people of the city.
Picasso's final works were a mixture of styles, his means of expression in constant flux until the end of his life. Devoting his full energies to his work, Picasso became more daring, his works more colorful and expressive, and from 1968 through 1971 he produced a torrent of paintings and hundreds of copperplate etchings. At the time these works were dismissed by most as pornographic fantasies of an impotent old man or the slapdash works of an artist who was past his prime. One long time admirer, Douglas Cooper, called them "the incoherent scribblings of a frenetic old man." Only later, after Picasso's death, when the rest of the art world had moved on from abstract expressionism, did the critical community come to see that Picasso had already discovered neo-expressionism and was, as so often before, ahead of his time.
Pablo Picasso died on April 8, 1973 in Mougins, France, and was interred at Castle Vauvenargues' park, in Vauvenargues, Bouches-du-Rhône.
Legacy
At the time of his death many of his paintings were in his possession, as he had kept off the art market what he didn't need to sell. In addition, Picasso had a considerable collection of the work of other famous artists, some his contemporaries, such as Henri Matisse, with whom he had exchanged works. Since Picasso left no will, his death duties (estate tax) to the French state were paid in the form of his works and others from his collection. These works form the core of the immense and representative collection of the Musée Picasso in Paris. In 2003, relatives of Picasso inaugurated a museum dedicated to him in his birthplace, Málaga, Spain, the Museo Picasso Málaga.
Picasso received numerous tributes and awards following his death and some paintings by him rank among the most expensive paintings in the world.
File:L'Accordéoniste.jpg
L'Accordéoniste, a 1911 cubist painting by Picasso.
Notes
- ↑ Robert Hughes, “Anatomy of a Minotaur,” Time Magazine, Nov. 1, 1971. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Kobi Ledor, MD. "A Guide to Collecting Picasso's Prints."
- Mallen, Enrique. The Visual Grammar of Pablo Picasso, vol. 54, Berkeley Insights in Linguistics & Semiotics Series. Berlin: Peter Lang, 2003.
- Mallen, Enrique. La Sintaxis de la Carne: Pablo Picasso y Marie-Thérèse Walter. Santiago de Chile: Red Internacional del Libro, 2005.
- Picasso, Olivier Widmaier. Picasso: The Real Family Story. Prestel, 2004. ISBN 3791331493
- Rubin, William, ed. Pablo Picasso, a retrospective. chronology by Jane Fluegel. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1980. ISBN 0870705199
External links
Museums:
- Pablo Picasso at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Museum Berggruen (Berlin, Germany) Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Museo Picasso Málaga (Málaga, Spain) Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Museu Picasso (Barcelona, Spain) Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Musée National Picasso (Paris, France) Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Musée Picasso (Antibes, France) Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Guggenheim Museum Biography Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- National Gallery of Art list of paintings. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Pablo Picasso at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Retrieved June 28, 2007.
Online galleries:
- On-Line Picasso Project: Comprehensive summary of his life and his work. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Pablo Picasso Art Gallery Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Pablo Picasso's paintings in the Private Art Collection Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Picasso at Olga's Gallery Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Pablo Picasso: A Virtual Art Gallery Retrieved June 28, 2007.
Essays:
- Power and Tenderness in Men and in Picasso's 'Minotauromachy' by Chaim Koppelman Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation files: Summary of FBI investigation of Picasso. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
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