Cubist artists were considered the forefathers of abstract art, they draw not what the eyes see, but rather what the mind sees (Stein). Among the many famous Cubists, Pablo Picasso stood out from the crowd by his unparalleled skills and daring ventures into the world of Cubism, Surrealism, and other art forms. Along the way, he became the mainstream and established different new art representations as true art forms; no longer letting traditional academic art monopolize the whole art scene. What created such a legendary artist? Was it all talent? Experiences and emotions are essential to create arts that can move people and break away from the norm. Pablo Picasso is the father of modern art, his diversity of style and the courage to break from tradition -- brought on by his experiences and the experiences of people around him -- created ripples that inspired and will continue to inspire the world. The Guitar Player (1910) Traditionally, even today, many people consider a "good painting" as one that depicts the scene perfectly (Staller). The artist would render the lighting realistically, and all objects would be so life-like that it's like a photograph, good examples would be paintings done during Renaissance period. Recently, with the advancement of photography, the line between a good painting and a photograph blurs. Probably because of this, audience, at least me, was not as easily impressed by nicely rendered paintings since we are used to seeing realistic representational images. After all, there have been a increasing number of family portraits that were manipulated into oil-painting-like pictures by computer programs. As a result, more attentions were turned to the field of abstract art where the paintings are like brain-teasers where the artists try to present what they want the audience to see, instead of just presenting the scene straight to the audience. Pablo Picasso's main inspiration seems to come from his life and people around him. Knowing this, it is imperative that the viewers know some basic background of of Picasso and his art work in order to fully appreaciate what he is trying to express through his work. The First Communion (1895-96) Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born on October 25, 1881, in Málaga, Spain. A son of an artist, Pablo Picasso was exposed to various art forms at a very young age. Picasso's father encouraged him to pursue art as a child, and even allowed Picasso complete some of his paintings. Picasso's father soon recognized his son's gifted talent at the age of 13 and openly admitted that Picasso's talent surpassed his own (Scarborough). At a young age, Picasso visited Prado, Spain's national fine art museum where he was inspired by great Spanish painters such as El Greco, Goya, and Velazquez (Scarborough). During this period, Picasso was still being trained using the Classical painting style, which was favored at that time. Classical Art represent nature as well as the human body in their greatest beauty and can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome, whose styles had been improved upon years later. In Barcelona, Picasso enrolled at La Lonja. The professors at the school were astounded by Picasso, calling him a child prodigy. There is no doubt about his talent, although early exposures to the world of art brought on by his father helped tremendously. At the school, Picasso continued his Classical training although he later strayed away from it to pursue other forms. However, he always believed the training in Classical Art enabled him to realize his visions and therefore was beneficial. Even in Picasso's first major oil painting "The First Communion," showed what a normal artist at that period of time wouldn't show. He chose not to show the moment when the child receives the Communion, but rather, showed the moment before the event. This illustrates that Picasso's budding way of thinking outside the box (Scarborough). At the age of 16, Picasso was accepted into Madrid's Royal Academy of Art. However, he left the school after one term because he disliked the teachings at the academy (Scarborough). Picasso then traveled to a village called Horta de San Juan and stayed with his friend Manuel Pallares. They spent days painting the landscape. Upon completing the painting,Picasso felt that the visit transformed him (Ocana). "All that I know, I learned in Pallares village." - Pablo Picasso   Next > [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, source ]

All materials are copyrighted to their respective owners (refer to Source Page). You can email Mok-Yi Chow for more information.