What Spanish painter invented collage and a new art style called cubism? This artist lived over 90 years and never stopped experimenting. The answer is Picasso. Picasso is usually considered the most important name in 20th-century art.

EARLY LIFE

Pablo Ruiz y Picasso was born in Málaga, Spain, in 1881. He was highly gifted and could draw beautifully by the time he was 14. He went to Paris in 1900 and began his career painting scenes in sidewalk cafés.

He also painted landscapes, still lifes (everyday objects), and portraits of friends and performers. Living on the edge of poverty in Paris, he met Fernande Olivier. She was the first of several women who shared his life and provided inspiration for his art.

THE BLUE PERIOD, CUBISM, AND AFTER

For two years, from 1901 to 1903, Picasso painted only in shades of blue. Many of the people in his blue paintings look sad. A rose period followed the blue period. During the rose period, he painted people from the circus in shades of red and pink. Then he became interested in African art and simplified the shapes in his paintings.

In 1907, Picasso shocked the world with Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (The Ladies of Avignon). In this painting, he broke up the women’s figures into ovals, almonds, and other shapes. He carried the distortion of objects even further with cubism. Lines, angles, and planes collided in his cubist paintings. During his cubist period, Picasso invented collage by pasting newspaper, pieces of cloth, and other materials onto his paintings.

Cubism influenced many 20th-century artists, but Picasso didn’t stop here. He was restless, always experimenting. Yet he returned to certain subjects over and over—the bullfight, the painter and his model, portraits, and landscapes. In the 1930s, he reacted to political events. The painting Guernica was Picasso's response to the bombing of a Spanish town during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

Picasso continued to create paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and prints after Guernica. But many people consider this painting to be his masterpiece. He died in 1973.

PICASSO’S INFLUENCE

Artists everywhere, of all types, give Picasso credit for anticipating just about everything the 20th century had to say in art. He freed painting from reproducing objects as they look. He freed sculpture from using only traditional materials, such as wood and metal. Picasso made sculptures from many materials, much as he made collages.

You can see Picasso’s art in museums all over the world. A Picasso sculpture that stands outdoors in downtown Chicago has become a city landmark.

 Source: Microsoft ® Encarta

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