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Pablo Picasso

We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth, at least the truth that is given to us to understand. - Pablo Picasso

Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain, and is probably most famous as the founder of Cubism However in a long life he produced a wide and varied body of work, the best-known being the blue period works which feature moving depictions of acrobats,  harlequins prostitutes, beggars and artists. 

Before he struck upon Cubism, Picasso went through a prodigious number of styles - realism, caricature, the ‘Blue period’ and the ‘Rose period’.  The Blue Period dates from 1901 to 1904 and is characterized by a predominantly blue palette and subjects focusing on outcasts, beggars, and prostitutes. A outstanding Blue Period work, of 1903, is, The Blind Man's Meal. Yet another example, perhaps the most lyrical and mysterious ever is the haunting Woman with a Crow (1903).

The Cubist movement in painting was developed by Picasso and Braque around 1907 and became a major influence on Western art. The artists chose to break down the subjects they were painting into a number of facets, showing several different aspects of one object simultaneously. The work up to 1912 is known as Analytical Cubism, concentrating on geometrical forms using subdued colors. The second phase, known as Synthetic Cubism, used more decorative shapes, stencilling, collage, and brighter colors. It was then that artists such as Picasso and Braque started to use pieces of cut-up newspaper in their paintings.

Several paintings by Picasso rank among the most expensive paintings in the world. In 2004 Picasso's painting Garcon a la pipe  was sold for US$104 million, thus establishing a new price record

Personal Life:

Although Picasso was born in Spain, and spend his early years there, as a late teenager he moved to Paris to further his artist career. Several times he returned to Spain, then to France, back to Spanish etc – before finally settling in Paris. Picasso hated to be alone when he wasn't working. In Paris he usually maintained a number of mistresses in addition to his wife or primary partner. In fact, women and Picasso’s art are often intertwined!

Picasso had a long string of lovers, four children by three women, and two wives. In the early years of the 20th century, Picasso, still a struggling youth, began a long term relationship with Fernande Olivier. It is she who appears in many of the Blue and Rose period paintings. After garnering fame and some fortune, Picasso left Fernande for Marcelle Humbert, whom Picasso called Eva. Picasso included declarations of his love for Eva in many Cubist works. Eva was diagnosed with cancer and during her rapid deterioration, Picasso administered to her every need, making daily trips across Paris to visit her in the hospital.
 

In 1918 Picasso married Olga Khoklova, a ballerina. In 1927 Picasso met the then underage (17) Marie Thérèse Walter and began a secret affair with her. Picasso's marriage to Olga soon ended in separation, as French law required an even division of property in the case of divorce and Picasso did not want Olga to have half his wealth. The two remained legally married until Olga's death in 1955. Picasso carried on a longstanding affair with Marie Thérèse and fathered a daughter, Maya, with her. Marie Thérèse lived in the vain hope that Picasso would one day marry her and eventually hanged herself after Picasso's death.
The photographer and painter Dora Maar was also a constant companion and lover of Picasso. The two were closest in the late 30s and early 40s and it was Dora who documented the painting of Guernica. Like all the women in his life, Dora was cruelly abused emotionally by the narcissistic Picasso.

He went through a difficult period after Françoise's departure, coming to terms with his advancing age and his perception that he was an old man, now in his seventies, who was no longer attractive, but rather grotesque to young women. A number of ink drawings from this period explore this theme of the hideous old dwarf as buffoonish counterpoint to the beautiful young girl, including several from a six-week affair with Genevieve LaPorte, who in June 2005 auctioned off the drawings Picasso made of her.

Picasso was not long in finding another lover, Jacqueline Roque. Jacqueline worked at the Madoura Pottery, where Picasso made and painted ceramics. The two remained together for the rest of Picasso's life, marrying in 1961.

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