Pablo Picasso was probably the most famous artist of the twentieth century. During his artistic career, which lasted more than 75 years, he created thousands of works, not only paintings but also sculptures, prints, and ceramics, using all kinds of materials. He almost single-handedly created modern art. He changed art more profoundly than any other artist of this century because he was an inspiration.Picasso was born on October 25, 1881, in Malaga, Spain, son of an artist, Jose Ruiz, and Maria Picasso. Rather than adopt the common name Ruiz, the young Picasso took the rarer name of his mother. An artistic prodigy, Picasso, at the age of 14, completed the one-month qualifying examination ...view middle of the document...
In late 1906, Picasso started to paint in a truly revolutionary manner. Inspired by Cézanne's flattened depiction of space, and working alongside his friend Georges Braque, he began to express space in strongly geometrical terms. These initial efforts at developing this almost sculptural sense of space in painting are the beginnings of Cubism.In 1907, Picasso painted "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," considered the watershed picture of the twentieth century, and met Georges Braque, the other leading figure of the Cubist movement. Cubism was equally the creation of Picasso and Braque and from 1911 to 1913; the two men were in frequent contact. In 1917, Picasso did the set and costume design for Serge Diaghilev's ballet "Parade." The famous "Demoiselles d'Avignon" is often represented as the seminal Cubist work. Although its impact on later Modernism cannot be denied, William Rubin has proven that it was actually a false start of sorts that did not lead directly into the Cubist work. You can tell this from the 1907 date of the Demoiselles, while the truly proto-Cubist works begin to appear later, in 1908-09.In late April of 1937, the world learned the shocking news of the saturation bombing of the civilian target of Guernica, Spain by the Nazi Luftwaffe. Picasso responded with his great anti-war painting, "Guernica."During World War II, Picasso lived in Paris, where he turned his energy to the art of ceramics. From 1947 to 1950, he pursued new methods...
