In his personal life, Picasso was known for his infidelities and his tendency to treat women poorly. He once famously stated, “For me, there are only two kinds of women: goddesses and doormats.”
A danger of solely focusing on artists in the Western art canon is that it perpetuates an exclusionary view of art. The artists are often white, male, and European, which overlooks the contributions of artists from other cultures and backgrounds.
Picasso was a courageous artist because he fearlessly broke from tradition and challenged the norms of his time. He was not afraid to experiment with different styles, techniques, and mediums.
By the age of 13, Picasso had surpassed his father’s artistic abilities and was admitted to the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. One of his earliest works is First Communion (1896), which he painted at the age of 15.
The Blue Period is characterized by somber, melancholic works that feature blue tones and themes of poverty and isolation. Some significant paintings from this period include The Old Guitarist (1903), La Vie (1903), and Blue Nude (1902).
The Rose Period of Picasso’s career, which lasted from 1905 to 1906, followed the Blue Period and was marked by a shift towards warmer colors and more optimistic themes.
Georges Braque (1882-1963) and Picasso’s collaborative efforts in Cubism began in 1908 when they started to experiment with techniques such as collage and papier collé.
Analytic Cubism was an innovative and revolutionary art style. It is characterized by the fragmentation and deconstruction of form, creating a new visual language.
This style of art is characterized by the use of collages, the incorporation of real-world objects, and bright colors. Picasso’s Mandolin and Guitar (1924) is a perfect example of Synthetic Cubism.
The last phase of Picasso’s art career, which encompassed the final years of his life from the 1960s until his death in 1973, was a period of prolific artistic exploration, innovation, and reinvention.
Cubism had a significant impact on the development of modern art, influencing movements such as Futurism, Dada, and Surrealism. Despite its revolutionary impact, Cubism was not universally acclaimed.