Picasso, Pablo (1881–1973)

Pablo Picasso (whose full name is Pablo Diego José Santiago Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Crispín Crispiniano de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz Picasso) was born in Málaga, Spain, on October 25, 1881. A child prodigy, Picasso's early artistic talents were encouraged by his father, an art teacher and museum curator. Best known as a painter and as the father of cubism, Picasso was also a pacifist, remaining neutral during the many conflicts and wars that occurred during his lifetime.

An early rebel, the Bohemian lifestyle of an artist suited him. He spent his teenage years between Spain and Paris, experimenting with the artistic styles of the late 1800s and early 1900s, known to and influenced by all the great painters of that time, Manet, Matisse, Rousseau, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Braque, among others. Picasso's work is categorized by periods. From 1901 to 1904 was his blue period. These somberly blue works often portray outcasts of society, such as beggars and prostitutes, as well as acrobats, harlequins, and artists. His rose period (1904–1907) was characterized by shades of pink, orange, and light blues and featured figures of circus people, harlequins, and clowns.

He began working on creating simplified forms that were based on the work of primitive artists, and in 1906 he produced a portrait of Gertrude Stein that is considered the precursor of cubism, the style which Picasso developed with his friend Georges Braque. Cubism consists of creating flat areas of pattern and color from fragmented three-dimensional objects, then juxtaposing them such that the reformed objects are seen from the front and the back simultaneously. Cubism was the dominant style for the first half of the 20th century.

One of Picasso's most famous paintings is Guernica, in which a grieving woman, a dying horse, a fallen soldier, and other images create a complex symbolism of the horrors of war. This monochrome mural-size painting was created in reaction to the German bombing of Guernica, in the Basque region of Spain, on the orders of the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco, on April 26, 1937. Picasso used his art to express anger at and condemnation of Franco and the Fascists. Even though he was a member of the Communist Party for most of his adult life, political movements did not seem to engage his interest.

At a later time, he painted two controversial canvases condemning U.S. involvement in the Korean War. The American government denied they had used [Page 1122]germ warfare in Korea, as Picasso claimed. Later research has shown that while germ warfare has never been proven, the massacre Picasso depicted actually did occur.

In 1918, Picasso married Olga Khoklova, a Russian ballerina, and they had a son. Their stormy relationship ended in separation after about 10 years. Because of French property settlement laws, they never divorced, and their marriage lasted until Olga's death in 1955. Picasso had numerous mistresses and had three children with two other women. He remarried in 1961, and he and his wife Jacqueline Roque remained together until his death on April 8, 1973, in France.

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