Pablo Picasso

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Crispiniano de la Santísima Trinidad, more commonly known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso (thank Heaven!) was a rare exception to the apparent rule of his time, being an artist who actually enjoyed fame and fortune during his lifetime, instead of posthumously, as is so often the story of the great artists we admire so much today.

Picasso’s works are most often identified by period, though the artist often failed (or, more accurately, refused) to conform to any prescribed “movement.” The term “period” when referring to a Picasso masterpiece is usually used to describe an era as it specifically applies to this artist, alone. Modern art critics prefer to evaluate the works of Pablo Picasso based on the Blue Period (1901-1904), the Rose Period (1905-1907), the African-Influenced Period (1908-1909), Analytic Cubism (1909-1912), and Synthetic Cubism (1912).

Pablo Picasso is the most acknowledged, influential and popular painter of the modern era. Spanish born in 1881, this artist was known as more than a painter, also having a hand in printmaking, sculpting, ceramics and stage design. Picasso changed the face of modern art by exploring and experimenting with a wide variety of styles. He began painting at an early age, taking lessons from his father who was an art instructor, and his works historically evolved as he did. Perhaps this is why Pablo Picasso’s works appealed to such a variety of patrons, all around the world.

The list of Picasso masterpieces is long, indeed, and displays notable distinctions between the various eras of his life, including The End of the Road (1898-1899), Le Moulin de la Galette (1900), Blue Nude (1903), La Vie (1903), The Old Guitarist (1903), Woman with a Crow (1904), Family at Saltimbanques (1905), Bertrude Stein (1905-1906), Two Nudes (1906), Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), Three Women (1907-1908), Bread and Fruit Dish on a Table, Houses on the Hill, Horta de Ebro (1909), Girl with Mandolin (Fanny Tellier), Portrait of Daniel Henry Kahnweiler (1910), Accordionist (1911), Still Life with Chair-Caning (1911-1912), Maquette for Guitar (1912), Mandolin and Clarinet (1913), Card Player (1913-1914), Still Life, Green Still Life, Glass of Absinthe (1914), Ambroise Vollard (1915), The American Manager (1917), Harlequin with Violin (Si tu Veux) (1918), Portrait of Igor Stravinsky, Nessus and Deganira (1920), Three Women at the Spring, Three Musicians (1921), Two Women Running on the Beach/The Race (1922), The Pipes of Pan (1923), Mandolin and Guitar (1924), Studio with Plaster Head, Three Dancers (1925), Seated Woman (1927), Painter and Model (1928), Large Nude in Red Armchair (1929), Crucifixion, Seated Bather (1930), Girl Before a Mirror (1928), Minotauromachy (1935), Straw Hat with Blue Leaves (1936), Guernica, Weeping Woman with Handkerchief (1937), Still Life with Steer’s Skull (1942), Bull’s Head (1943), The Charnel House (1944-1945), Baboon and Young (1951), The Shadow (1953), Don Quixote (1955), Chicago Monument (1966), Self-Portrait (1972) and Femme (Date Unknown).

Pablo Picasso’s personal life was as complex and fascinating as his revolutionary paintings, including two marriages, four children, and multiple, tangled affairs. His masterpieces are every bit as sought after today as they were going into the 20th century.