Pablo Picasso

Overview

Born in Spain in 1881, Pablo Picasso would live a life that would redefine the structure and concept of visual art. Over the course of his 91 years, his works as a painter and sculptor would be associated with various movements in 20th Century modern art, most notably Cubism. Join Active Minds as we explore the life and revolutionary works of Picasso.

Key Lecture Points

Born in Malaga, Spain, in 1881, Pablo Picasso would come to be the most influential figures of 20th century art, influencing painting, printmaking, sculpture and ceramics.
With the support of his family including his father who was an artist and art teacher, Picasso would move throughout Spain as a young person in pursuit of an education in visual arts, from Malaga in the South to in the North to Barcelona and Madrid. While he never returned to Spain after 1934, owing to his opposition to the Fascist regime of Francisco Franco, his Spanish roots would always remain influential in his art.
Upon moving to Paris in 1904, the artistic influences of France would begin to manifest in Picasso’s work. In Paris, he became part of a circle of intellectuals and artists that attended salons at Gertrude Stein’s apartment. Stein and her brother became champions of Picasso’s work, providing major financial support in his early years.
With Georges Braque, Picasso developed Cubism, which they viewed as a different way of viewing reality. In both painting and collage, the Cubists experimented with use of shape and perspective to depict multiple perspectives rather than a single, limited view.
During and after World War I, as his circle changed and he spent time in the south of France, his work picked up Mediterranean influences such that it featured both Cubist and more naturalistic elements. Picasso was also influenced by the Surrealist movement of the interwar period. This is reflected in his most famous work, the enormous painting Guernica that depicts the atrocities of the fascist forces in the Spanish Civil War.
Notwithstanding his remarkable and world-changing artistic works, they were often achieved at the expense of those around him, particularly women with whom he was intimately involved.
Picasso died in 1973 in the South of France at the age of 91. He is buried in a Chateau near Aix-en-Provence next to his second wife Jacqueline. During his lifetime, he had created as many as 150,000 paintings, collages, sculptures and other works of art.

Discussion Questions

Does his experimentation and innovation make Picasso more or less appealing as an artist?
Do cubism and surrealism make Picasso’s art more meaningful?
Do you think Picasso’s notorious personal life should influence the way we think of him as an artist?
Do you agree that Picasso was the preeminent artist of the 20th century? What other figures would you put in this category in human history?

More to Explore

Picasso's life and work Click here
Picasso information (Museum of Modern Art in New York) Click here

Books for Further Reading

O’Brian, Patrick. Picasso: A Biography W. W. Norton & Co., 1994. 510 pages. 978-The famed author knew Picasso and brings that experience to this biography that explores, in particular, the Mediterranean origins of Picasso’s character and art.
Green, Christopher. Picasso’s ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.’ Cambridge University Press, 2001. 174 pages. Contributors explore the power and significance of Picasso’s towering painting from a variety of topical perspectives.