The Life and Works of Pablo Picasso

Pablo Ruiz y Picasso was a Spanish painter born in Malaga, Spain on October 25th 1881.  He was unique as an inventor of forms, and an innovator of styles and techniques.  He was a master of various media and one of the most prolific artists in history, who created more than 20,000 works.

Picasso's genius manifested itself early.  At the age of 10, he made his first paintings, and at age 15, he performed brilliantly in Barcelona's School of Fine Arts entrance examination.  Picasso's works in the 1900s were relatively conventional, moving through a mournfiul Blue Period (1901-1905) to the mellower Rose Period (1905). 

Blue Period

Period of representation of forms and emotional subject matter.  Elements of intense melancholy by pervasion of of cold ethereal blue tones.  Themes of poverty, blindess, love, death were often in Picasso's thoughts.  Picasso worked on giving figures dramatic emphasis by the simplicity of their background. 

The Old Guitarist. 1903. Oil on Panel

this has been my all time favourite from Picasso's Blue Period art works.  The blue tones he used, the form of the figure conveys so much emotion.  When I see this piece, I see poverty, I see desperation.  The need to survive, and with the help of this old man's guitar, his sole companion, able to manage to scrape just enough.  The long angled form of his shoulders that sag, his sitting position are all done beautifully. 

 The Tragedy. Oil

Painted at the heigh of the Blue Period showcase the emphasis on poverty, desolation with melancholy inducing colours.  Picasso has been  obsessed with epitomizing the  suffering in this time.  He has beautifually rendered strokes of colour and expression in each faces of his figure.  This family portrait sure is not your typical  one, rather of a picture that reflects awareness that pain, suffering are all around us.  Brilliantly done by Picasso.

Rose Period

Picasso changed his palette to shades of pink, red and much lighter, happier colours.  Influenced by the circus life in Paris, Picasso's hard times with dire poverty were over.  He was happy with this relationship with Fernande Olivier.  However, evidence of light melacholy moods are still drawn and painted from Picasso's cavases.   Preferred subjects were of clowns, and acrobats whom he went to see occasionally. 


Young Acrobat on a ball.  1905.  Oil on Canvas

Despite the choice of colour and the  cheerful thought of being in a circus, Picasso has set this mysetiour piece that leaves me wondering, what about this massive, brooding mood of a man sitting down, looking down.  Is he thinking of what?   There's that underlying  curiosity  in this picture.  There have been many Rose Period pieces from Picasso that says so many things.   When you see a young Harlequin and a mother, the mother looks sad while the child looks away.  Does it say restlessness? Does it show sadness?  Rose Period may have been a phase of non cold-ethereal tones and lighter mood, but the expression of the subjects' faces and elongated sag of shoulders tells us otherwise.