When it comes to art everyone has a different opinion. Modern art particularly sets people apart as some question whether it is art at all while others marvel at its splendor. However, there are a number of artists that are so famous throughout history that they are loved by all. Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Van Gogh, and Picasso are probably the most renowned artists of all time. Picasso in particular stands out as he covered so many different styles during his time as an artist. Today we take a closer look at his life.
Picasso was born ready to be an artist. He was born in October 1881 in Spain and his father was an artist. This meant that it came as no surprise when the first word uttered by little Pablo was ‘pencil’ in Spanish (lapis). What did come as a surprise to those who saw Pablo Picasso grow was how quickly he became incredible. At the age of nine, he completed his first painting called ‘Le Picador’ a work that already shows his potential. Yet by the age of thirteen, he had become a master. His father saw his work and decided to quit painting himself – he saw that if his thirteen-year-old son was already better than him, then he had nothing to offer the world in painting.
It was at this age that Picasso’s life really started to change. He was accepted into the school of Fine Arts. The entrance exam typically takes one month to complete yet he completed all requirements in a week. He held his first exhibition the same year and soon word started to spread about the 13-year-old wonder.
Many people criticize Picasso’s famous works for being random shapes that don’t look like their subject. What they don’t realize is that Picasso started out with paintings that were so perfect and so beautiful he started to invent his own new approach to art. At 15 he completed a portrait called “First Communion” and to any viewer, it is a splendid masterpiece. Clearly, as he got older he would have to find new ways to be creative. This led him to create cubism a new perspective in the art world which reduced everything to geometric shapes. Yet to complete this work he first needed to master other art forms.
Picasso was an artist in the truest sense. He was a painter, a sculptor, a poet, a playwright, a stage designer, a ceramicist, and a writer. He was also an incredibly eccentric character. He was a known communist and would carry a gun in his pocket that was loaded with blanks. If anyone insulted him, the artist Cezanne who he admired, or were just being boring he would shoot them with the blanks.
Picasso is mostly known for creating the world of cubism but he also holds a number of records. At the time of his death, Picasso was the richest painter that ever lived. Many people portray him as a struggling artist but clearly, the opposite was true. He completed an incredible amount of works during his life. He holds the record for the most works completed by a single artist. In his lifetime he made 150,000 pieces of art including 14,000 paintings, 100,000 prints, 34,000 book illustrations, and 300 sculptures.
We are fortunate to have had the work of Picasso in our lives. When he was born he was so small that the nurse thought he was stillborn. She left him to look after his mother. He would have died except a relative noticed that he was moving and saved him. In his death his final words were “Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can’t drink anymore”.
