The World of Pablo Picasso, Revolutionary Genius of Modern Art

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would not be wrong to say that Pablo Picasso, more than 50 years after his death, has emerged as one of the most influential artists in modern history. Such is Picasso's legacy that he is also one of the most bankable artists on the market. He is counted among the most expensive artists ever sold at auction, with many of his works fetching over $100 million. His most expensive painting sold at auction is Les Femmes d'Alger (Version 'O'), which broke records and fetched $179.4 million at Christie's in New York in May 2015.

He was not just a master painter but also a sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, etcher, and writer. He devoted nearly 80 years of his life to art and produced more than 20,000 works, including paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, books, theatre sets, and costumes, spanning a vast range of styles. The inspiration behind his artworks came from events around him – love affairs, personal losses, and the socio-political upheavals of Europe. These experiences all formed a part of his work. Born Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Crispiniano de la Santísima Trinidad on 25 October 1881 in Málaga, Spain, he was an art prodigy from childhood. His father, José Ruiz Blasco, was a professor of art at the Málaga School of Fine Arts and curator of the local museum. According to Howard Halle for ARTnews, his father was a "painter known for avian studies, particularly of doves, so in a sense young Pablo went into the family business. From an early age he demonstrated an aptitude for art well beyond his years, though little else in terms of study since he was dyslexic at a time when its diagnosis was unknown."

He was not strong academically, but such was his brilliance in drawing and painting that, at the age of 11, he was admitted to the School of Fine and Applied Arts in La Coruña, Spain. By 13, he was already exhibiting and selling his oil paintings. In 1897, his father enrolled him at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, the most prestigious art school in Spain. At the age of 16, he was a student there, but he frequently skipped classes and visited museums to study the works of Velázquez, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. "He became especially enamoured of Caravaggio and El Greco. The latter, in particular, had a profound effect on the young artist; indeed, the compositional grouping of El Greco’s Vision of Saint John (1608–14) would, a decade later, directly influence Picasso’s history-shattering painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), one of several Picasso compositions that owed a debt to the Greek Old Master," wrote Halle.

Throughout his career, Pablo Picasso’s art evolved through distinct periods. Each period reflected his emotions, influences, and revolutionary approach to style, from the melancholy of the Blue Period to the radical abstraction of Cubism and beyond.

Blue Period (1901–1904)

At the age of 21, the young artist was poor and depressed. According to Christie's, "Central to the onset of the Blue Period was the suicide of his close friend and fellow artist, Carles Casagemas. As Picasso said, 'It was thinking about Casagemas’s death that started me painting in blue.'" During this phase, he explored themes such as human misery.

Rose Period (1904–1906)

The Rose Period marked a departure from the somber tones of the Blue Period. Paintings from this time used vivid earth tones, pinks, reds, and oranges. "Later works from the Rose Period, such as the portrait of writer and patron Gertrude Stein (1905–06), signal the emergence of Cubism and demonstrate Picasso’s early interest in Iberian sculpture," states Christie's.

Cubism (1907–1914)

Cubism was jointly created by Picasso and French painter Georges Braque in Paris between 1907 and 1914. Influenced by the late work of Paul Cézanne, as well as African and Iberian sculptures, Picasso and Braque developed a visual language that rejected conventional notions of perspective and representation. A prime example of a painting from this era is Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907).

Neoclassicism and Surrealism (1919–1930s)

After World War I, Picasso returned to more traditional, classical forms but also explored dreamlike, surreal imagery. "His personal life was fraught with turbulence as he navigated between his impassioned love affair with his young mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter, and a growing distance from his wife Olga. As a result of this volatile mix of emotion and influence, Picasso’s Surrealist works stand out as some of his most radical and disturbing evocations of the female form," states Christie's.

War Period (1935–1945)

During the German occupation of France, Picasso was unable to leave Paris for Spain. The Nazis despised his art, labelling it "degenerate" (Entartete Kunst). His anti-fascist views and his iconic painting Guernica made him a prime target, and exhibitions of his work were banned.

Post-War Years (1946–1962)

His relationship with the much younger artist Françoise Gilot became evident in his paintings, often depicting her as a blooming flower. They had two children and moved to Vallauris from Paris, where he experimented with prints and ceramics. In 1952, his muse and love, Jacqueline Roque, began to influence his work, becoming a recurring subject in his art.

Most Famous Artworks

Weeping Woman (1937), Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), La Vie (1903), The Old Guitarist (1903–04), Figures at the Seaside (1931), Le Rêve (1932), Jacqueline with Flowers (1954), At the Lapin Agile (1905).