Undoubtedly, one of the most impressive fields of art, which is formed by the combination of efforts to make sense of the world in which people live, with aesthetic feelings is painting. It is possible to talk about countless painters who have enriched the art of painting throughout history, but Pablo Picasso has a special place among them. Pablo Picasso, who lived in the 20th century, created numerous works that laid the foundations of cubism.
Pablo Picasso, who spent part of his life in France despite being Spanish, not only painted but also created countless works in many different art genres. That is why we call him not only a painter but also an artist who changed the history of art. Let’s take a closer look at who Pablo Picasso is and see some of his paintings that you will want to admire for hours.
Who is Pablo Picasso, the painter who became legendary with his life and art movement?
Pablo Picasso, who was born in Malaga, Spain, on October 25, 1881, went to fine art school because he had a talent for painting since he was a child, and then he went to Paris. Pablo Picasso, who met countless new artists and art movements thanks to Paris, where he stepped into in his early youth, started to lay the foundations of the cubism art movement here.
Pablo Picasso was not only a painter, he was also a sculptor, stage designer, poet and playwright. It is known that he has more than one hundred thousand print paintings, more than 34 thousand book illustrations, more than 300 sculptures and many ceramic works. Pablo Picasso died on April 8, 1973, at the age of 91 from a heart attack and pulmonary edema.
Pablo Picasso works that you can’t get enough of:
- Portrait of Dora Maar
- The Old Guitarist
- Figures at the Seaside
- Jolie
- The Soup
- La Vie
- Large Nude in a Red Armchair
- Les Demoiselles D’Avignon
- The Weeping Woman
- Guernica
From his easy-to-understand pictures: Portrait of Dora Maar
Portrait of Dora Maar, which depicts Pablo Picasso’s lover Dora Maar at that time, is a portrait. In this painting made in 1937, the female figure is sitting on a chair. Although it is a work that does not contain many details and is easy to understand, its floral motif dress and long red nail polished nails attract attention. The figure also has a relaxed and happy face.
Drawn with a socialist attitude: The Old Guitarist
The Old Guitarist, made by Pablo Picasso between 1903 and 1904, is also one of the artist’s best-known paintings. This painting was painted at a time when he was more sensitive to the oppressed. In the piece, a man who is obviously blind is hugging a guitar in a bent position. This narrative presents both an abstract and a physical figure. While Picasso was painting this painting, he received the news that his best friend Casagemas had committed suicide.
The painting of deception: Figures at the Seaside
It is said that Picasso’s 1931 painting Figures at the Seaside is actually a picture of betrayal. Known to be at odds with his then-wife Olga, Picasso went to the French Riviera Resort alone that summer, where he had an affair with a 19-year-old model. The two praying mantis heads pictured are an interesting depiction of female insects eating the male post-coital.
Picture of a popular song: Ma Jolie
Taking her name from the nickname of Marcelle Humbert, Picasso’s lover at that time, Ma Jolie draws attention with her musical figures and clef. The painting also refers to a popular song that was played in Paris music halls at that time. Ma Jolie is an important work in which the cubist side of the painter is revealed most clearly. The fact that it does not look like traditional paintings and has a hidden smile in its details makes it unique.
The real form of poverty: The Soup
The Soup painting, painted in 1902, belongs to a period when Pablo Picasso was writhing in poverty. It is known that although he had made great profits in the year before this painting, he had lost them all. It is estimated that the inspiration for the painting was a mural painted by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes inside the Pantheon. In the painting we see clearly helping a woman who needs help.
A table within a table: La Vie
It is quite remarkable that the human figures in La Vie, which he made in 1903, in a period called the blue period of Pablo Picasso, are naked. In fact, La Vie contains a painting within a painting because behind the human figures in the front there are other paintings. In this work, which is said to be inspired by Van Gogh’s painting Sorrow, besides the theme of loneliness, a social stance is also reflected.
Separation trauma: Large Nude in a Red Armchair
In his 1929 painting Large Nude in a Red Armchair, Picasso was influenced not only by cubism but also by surrealism. This portrait, which is thought to be his first wife, Olga, of course, does not have traditional lines. Picasso, who suffered a trauma after a bad breakup with his wife, reflected this in his own way in the painting Large Nude in a Red Armchair. The saturation in the color palette is remarkable.
Five dissimilar female figures: Les Demoiselles D’Avignon
Five naked prostitutes are depicted in the human figures that appear in Les Demoiselles D’Avignon, one of Pablo Picasso’s works made in Barcelona in 1907. None of the women fit the traditional female figure. The discrete and angular figures are reflections of the cubism movement. Two of the female figures are depicted in the Iberian style, two with an African mask, and one in the Egyptian style.
Embellished with details: The Weeping Woman
Like the Portrait of Dora Maar, his lover Dora Maar is depicted in the 1937 painting The Weeping Woman. The place of this painting, which he made at the same time as Guernica, was very special to him, and even when it was exhibited, he visited it frequently. Although it looks like a classic Picasso painting from the outside, it is perhaps one of his most detailed paintings.
No, you did: Guernica
Guernica is perhaps one of Pablo Picasso’s most famous works. The painting, made in 1937, depicts the Nazi bombing of the city of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. The original of the painting was made in black, white and gray colors. According to a rumor, during the Second World War, a Nazi officer came to Picasso’s house to question him and showed him the Guernica painting and asked, ‘Did you do this?’ he asked. Picasso said, ‘No, you did.’ said.
We have listed some of the most important works of the artist by answering the question of who is Pablo Picasso, one of the most important painters in the history of world art. Of course, this list could have been much longer. You can share the Pablo Picasso works that you want to be on our list in the comments.