Picasso was a sculptor, ceramicist, stage designer, poet, dramatist, and print writer in addition to being a painter.
Pablo Picasso is among the most renowned
artists in the world. Four of Picasso’s works are among the world’s top 15 most
valuable paintings: “Le Rêve,” “Garçon à la pipe,” “Nude, Green Leaves and
Bust,” and “Dora Maar au Chat.”
This famous painter was born on October 25th,
1881 in Malaga, Spain but lived most of
life in France. While most refer to him just as Picasso, his full name was
actually 23 words: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de
los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y
Picasso. These names all come from a list of saints and relatives.
When Picasso was born, he was so small that
the nurse thought he was stillborn and left him to take care of his mother.
Luckily, his uncle ended up noticing and saved him from dying.
His father, also being an artist, started
teaching Picasso art when he was seven years old.
Picasso is one of the most prolific painters
in the world, according to Guinness World Records. Approximately 147,800 pieces
of art were made over his 78-year career, including over 13,500 paintings or
designs, 100,000 prints or engravings, 34,000 book illustrations, and 300
sculptures or ceramics.
Picasso’s first word, being the great artist
that he was, was “piz”. It is short for “lapis” the Spanish word for pencil.
When he was nine years old, Picasso completed
his first painting. It was titled “Le Picador” and the composition is a man
riding a horse into a bullfight.
When Picasso was 13 years old, his father
quit painting because he thought his son was already a better painter than
himself.
Picasso was accepted to the School of Fine
Arts at 13, where he completed his entrance exams in just one week – a feat
which took most students one month.
This artist achieved a lot while he was 13.
It was at this age that Picasso also had his first exhibition in the back of an
umbrella shop.
His first major painting, which was an
‘academic’ work was First Communion, which was a portrait of his father,
mother, and younger sister kneeling before an altar. Picasso was 15 when he
finished it.
Picasso attended the Royal Academy of San
Fernando in Madrid when he was 16 years old. He quit out soon after because he
disliked formal education.
As a teen, his younger sister who was seven,
passed away due to diphtheria. After this, he and his family moved to
Barcelona.
The first job Picasso ever had was working
for an art dealer named Pere Menach.
This impressive creator was producing
incredible works from a young age, up until his passing.
Some of his paintings are certainly very
bizarre and abstract, which sets him apart from everyone else who tries to
wield a paintbrush.
Picasso’s painting “Christ Blessing the
Devil” reflected his early and very conflicted thoughts on religion, particularly
following the death of his sister. The artwork portrays Christ rewarding an
overworked demon with a dazzling halo around his head. Picasso was raised
Catholic but eventually converted to atheism.
Picasso was known for being quite the ladies’
man – he had four children by three women, and was married twice.
On top of this, he had many mistresses. His
requirement for them were that they had to be submissive, and they had to be
shorter than he was – he stood at just 5 feet, 4 inches.
Picasso is regarded as the inventor of the
modern art movement known as Cubism, which is a style that reduces subjects to
geometric forms.
Picasso preferred to paint women over males,
according to one historian, because he linked sex with art: the procreative act
with the creative act. The majority of his male portraits are self-portraits.
Apparently, Picasso would tend to carry
around a pistol that he loaded with blanks. He would use it to fire at people
that he thought were boring, or anyone who insulted Cézanne, who was a French
artist and impressionist.
While Germany was occupying Paris in World
War ll, Picasso’s paintings were banned by the Nazis because they thought they
didn’t follow the rules of art.
Pablo Picasso was a communist.
More of Picasso’s paintings have been stolen
over any other artist.
Impressively enough, Picasso holds a world
record for the most pieces of art created by one person. Over 78 years, he
produced over 13,500 paintings or designs, 100,000 prints or engravings, 34,000
book illustrations, and 300 sculptures or ceramics. This brings the grand total
to over 147,800 pieces of art.
That’s not the only record he’s set – the
most expensive painting ever sold was Picasso’s “Women of Algiers” piece which
sold in 2015 for $179.3 million dollars!
Interestingly enough, Picasso loved pets!
During his lifetime, he owned a mouse, turtle, monkey, and a few cats and dogs.
Picasso’s final words were “Drink to me,
drink to my health. You know I can’t drink anymore.”
When Picasso died, he was the richest artist
in history.
Picasso died on April 8th, 1973 in Mougins,
France due to pulmonary edema and heart failure.
Picasso didn’t have a will, so when he died,
his estate tax was paid to the French in the form of his paintings.
After Picasso died, his wife, Jacqueline
Roqe, was so devastated and lonely that she killed herself 13 years later by
gunshot.
That’s not the only casualty of Picasso’s
death – Jacqueline didn’t allow Picasso’s grandson, Claude, to go to the
funeral due to an argument over the distribution of Picasso’s estate. Because
of this, Claude drank a bottle of bleach but it took three months for him to
die.
One of Picasso’s most famous quotes is “Art
is the lie that allows us to understand the truth.”
Picasso was laid to rest in a château he
purchased in the south of France in 1958. He purchased the property because it
was located on the slopes of Mont Sainte-Victoire, a favorite haunt of
impressionist painter Paul Cézanne. “I have just purchased myself Cézanne’s
mountains,” Picasso proclaimed after acquiring the property.
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