Perhaps one of the worst decisions I could make is choosing a superbly famous artist for my very FIRST Artist Spotlight post. So obviously that's what I'm going to do. Because:
a) Common sense don't control me;
b) I have NO FEAR! and
c) Pablo Picasso was a huge inspiration for me before I even knew who he really was.
Further, I am fully aware that a blog post is a hilarious format on which to attempt outlining anything about such a great figure's life, work, or impact on the world. Like, measly. Just pathetic. So in my attempt to share this with you, I'm going to briefly outline his life, and then just show you a bunch of pictures. So here goes...
Many (I would even to venture to say "most") of you can "picture" a Picasso. Even if the image in your mind right now is not of anything he actually did, his work is so universally recognized now, that you're surely picturing something relatively accurate in terms of style or color. I'd imagine that you were picturing something like this:
a) Common sense don't control me;
b) I have NO FEAR! and
c) Pablo Picasso was a huge inspiration for me before I even knew who he really was.
Further, I am fully aware that a blog post is a hilarious format on which to attempt outlining anything about such a great figure's life, work, or impact on the world. Like, measly. Just pathetic. So in my attempt to share this with you, I'm going to briefly outline his life, and then just show you a bunch of pictures. So here goes...
Many (I would even to venture to say "most") of you can "picture" a Picasso. Even if the image in your mind right now is not of anything he actually did, his work is so universally recognized now, that you're surely picturing something relatively accurate in terms of style or color. I'd imagine that you were picturing something like this:
or this:
But would you ever peg this as a Picasso?
Pablo Picasso was born October 25, 1881 in Málaga, Spain. One of the great challenges of his childhood was keeping him occupied in school; he preferred to spend the day drawing rather than paying attention in class, which consistently got him into trouble. In 1895, Picasso moved to Barcelona with his family, and then he moved again to Madrid in 1897. Following both moves, Picasso enrolled in the local art academy (first the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona, then the Royal Academy of San Fernando), and both times found himself losing interest in the strict, classical approaches being taught, and finding more interest in exploring the city and the varied characters that roamed the streets there. In 1899, a move back to Barcelona placed him into a crowd of intellectuals and artists who met at a café called El Quatre Gats, and who began to change his outlook on the world and art. Then, at the turn of the century, he moved to Paris, France.
He went through a "Blue Period" from about 1901 to 1904, which was thought to be brought on by the death of a close friend, Carlos Casagemas, and which brought about paintings like this:
And a Rose Period from 1905-1906, which was thought to be inspired by a new flame, a model named Fernande Olivier, and his success as an artist thanks to the art dealer Ambroise Vollard.
In 1907, he painted "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," which is generally recognized as one of the beginnings of Cubism.
So I'm going to stop here. Picasso was ridiculously prolific. His artwork went through several more phases, including cubism, more classical artwork, surrealism, and so on. It is estimated that he created upwards of 50,000 pieces of art, including drawings, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, prints, and even tapestries. I think it would take several novels to cover even a third of his life.
But the thing that strikes me most about Picasso is that he was, by most standards, essentially a prodigy. He could out-draw his art teacher father by the time he was 13. Prestigious schools let him in when he was far younger than the rest of the students because of his talent. Sadly, I didn't realize this until relatively recently.
In early 2015, I went on a ridiculously magnificent trip to Paris, France. I got to see incredible things, hang out with awesome people, and go on what was, for me, a real live adventure. One day, I was perusing through the Musée d'Orsay, when I came across this painting:
But the thing that strikes me most about Picasso is that he was, by most standards, essentially a prodigy. He could out-draw his art teacher father by the time he was 13. Prestigious schools let him in when he was far younger than the rest of the students because of his talent. Sadly, I didn't realize this until relatively recently.
In early 2015, I went on a ridiculously magnificent trip to Paris, France. I got to see incredible things, hang out with awesome people, and go on what was, for me, a real live adventure. One day, I was perusing through the Musée d'Orsay, when I came across this painting:
It caught my eye at first because of the gorgeous colors and the striking style of it, but as I looked at the name plate beside the painting, I realized it was by Picasso. I would never have guessed that in a million years. Which is about 90% of the reason I've looked so much into his life and his work. And I'm not even touching on most of it in this post and it's driving me NUTS.
So anyway, upon initially looking at his work while he was in school, I think it's far to say that few would have expected someone with that level of talent to veer into the world of modern art.
However, I think that it is this talent that placed him in good standing to try his hand at art the way he did. In fact, he explained it himself by saying, "Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist."
I think it's easy for people to look at Picasso's cubism or surrealism and think, "Well, gee, anyone can slap some shapes on a canvas and call it three musicians..." But I think the difference is that all of the shapes and lines and colors were placed on Picasso's canvases with intent. He knew exactly the effect they would have, how the colors would interact, and how to direct the eye. He put everything exactly where he wanted it, and knew exactly which rules he was breaking, and why.
I'll pretty inevitably talk more about Picasso's life. In fact, I think sometimes that he is one of the reasons that I kept to my art through that rough time as a child where it seemed that every other kid was learning that their "dinosaur" drawing looked more like a diseased cat. I did mention at the beginning of this post (pretty awkwardly, I might add), that Picasso was an "inspiration" of sorts for me from a rather young age. So here's that story:
When I was probably about four, I remember sitting in my Grandma and Grandpa's kitchen with my little notepad (I had yet to make the life-changing discovery that there were actually notebooks without lines that are really made just for drawing), carefully drawing out a girl's face - my brow was furrowed, my tongue was sticking out, and I had the notoriously awful death-grip on my pencil as I tried yet again to get everything in the right spot. My Dad was sitting at the table with me, and after glancing over my arm at the paper, chuckled, and said something along the lines of, "It's so cool - everything you draw looks like Picasso."
Now I was just old enough at the time to have heard the name. I knew he was a famous artist... but that was it. I had no idea that Dad was probably talking about a piece like this:
So anyway, upon initially looking at his work while he was in school, I think it's far to say that few would have expected someone with that level of talent to veer into the world of modern art.
However, I think that it is this talent that placed him in good standing to try his hand at art the way he did. In fact, he explained it himself by saying, "Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist."
I think it's easy for people to look at Picasso's cubism or surrealism and think, "Well, gee, anyone can slap some shapes on a canvas and call it three musicians..." But I think the difference is that all of the shapes and lines and colors were placed on Picasso's canvases with intent. He knew exactly the effect they would have, how the colors would interact, and how to direct the eye. He put everything exactly where he wanted it, and knew exactly which rules he was breaking, and why.
I'll pretty inevitably talk more about Picasso's life. In fact, I think sometimes that he is one of the reasons that I kept to my art through that rough time as a child where it seemed that every other kid was learning that their "dinosaur" drawing looked more like a diseased cat. I did mention at the beginning of this post (pretty awkwardly, I might add), that Picasso was an "inspiration" of sorts for me from a rather young age. So here's that story:
When I was probably about four, I remember sitting in my Grandma and Grandpa's kitchen with my little notepad (I had yet to make the life-changing discovery that there were actually notebooks without lines that are really made just for drawing), carefully drawing out a girl's face - my brow was furrowed, my tongue was sticking out, and I had the notoriously awful death-grip on my pencil as I tried yet again to get everything in the right spot. My Dad was sitting at the table with me, and after glancing over my arm at the paper, chuckled, and said something along the lines of, "It's so cool - everything you draw looks like Picasso."
Now I was just old enough at the time to have heard the name. I knew he was a famous artist... but that was it. I had no idea that Dad was probably talking about a piece like this:
Because, you know, I was four, and getting anything to be symmetrical or in the right spot was just not going to happen any time soon.
However, at the time, I thought that was just incredible. I drew like Picasso. For years I was adamant that he was my favorite artist. I wanted to grow up to be as good as Picasso.
And though I'm lightyears away from being at his level when he was my age, I'm still trying.
So I'll leave you with one last painting. It's one of my favorite paintings of his. I hope you've enjoyed this look at the work of Picasso, and that you are also inspired to learn, to try, and to break the occasional rule.
Thanks!
Sarah
However, at the time, I thought that was just incredible. I drew like Picasso. For years I was adamant that he was my favorite artist. I wanted to grow up to be as good as Picasso.
And though I'm lightyears away from being at his level when he was my age, I'm still trying.
So I'll leave you with one last painting. It's one of my favorite paintings of his. I hope you've enjoyed this look at the work of Picasso, and that you are also inspired to learn, to try, and to break the occasional rule.
Thanks!
Sarah