I would like to introduce you to artist Pablo Picasso. Born on October 25, 1881 in Malaga Spain, Picasso grew to be one of the most influential artists to modern 20th century art. Considering his father was an art teacher, Picasso was exposed to art at an early age and eventually became one of his father’s students. While under his father’s instruction, Picasso was able to take what he was learning and develop new and expressive styles of art. By the time he was 13 Picasso’s abilities had surpassed those of his father who decided to refocus his efforts and promote Picasso’s talents.
When Picasso was 16 he entered the Royal Academy of San Fernando. He disliked the formality of those classes and soon quit going. He was more interested by the life around him and the art that he found in the local museums. The influences of Velazquez, Goya, and especially El Greco with the elements of elongated limbs, and vibrant colors can be seen in the later works of Picasso.
It was a few years later that Picasso went to Paris, which was considered the art capitol of Europe. It was here that Picasso’s career began. However, he started out extremely poor and was reported to have to burn some of his pieces in order to keep warm in his room! Eventually, he gained more connections with influential people and found himself a part of an art gallery in the Montparnasse quarters in France.
Picasso’s artistic journey is distinguished by certain periods and accomplishments. The time period between 1901 and 1904 was known as Picasso’s blue period. During this period his works were mostly done in varying shades and tints of blue. His works were often of a melancholy nature which was a reflection of his observations of the poor as well as some personal tragedies. Some of these works were “The Blind Man’s Meal“,
“La Vie” and “Crouching Woman“. Picasso’s rose period was between 1904 and 1906. His works during this period where done in tints and shades of red and had a happier composition often the influence of circus life. This can be seen in his “Garcon a la pipe”. Another important accomplishment of Picasso included working with Braque to develop Analytical Cubism. Some examples of this are “Three Musicians” and “La guitariste“.
Pablo Picasso was a master of the age and a great place to get inspiration from! I hope you enjoyed meeting a famous artist! You can find free pintable art pages and lesson plans about Picasso from the links below. Remember, Picasso said, “everything you can imagine is real”. Happy Creating : )
Pablo Picasso Cookies
Pablo Picasso | Word Search Worksheet
Self Portrait (Picasso) | Coloring page
Three Musicians | “Learn to Watercolor” project
Proto-Cubism : Thinking like Picasso