Pablo PICASSO

Pablo PICASSO (1881 - 1973)
Pablo Picasso is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
As a painter, sculptor, draughtsman, printmaker and ceramicist, he has left his mark on the history of modern art.
His bold use of form, colour and perspective overturned artistic conventions and inspired generations of artists, including Willem de Kooning and David Hockney.
"There are artists who turn the sun into a yellow stain, but there are others who, thanks to their art and intelligence, turn a yellow stain into the sun" said Pablo Picasso.
Born on 25 October 1881 in Malaga, Spain, Picasso showed exceptional talent from an early age, encouraged by his father, José Ruíz Blasco, a painter and art teacher. He enrolled at the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid and then frequented artistic circles in Barcelona before settling permanently in Paris in 1904, where he joined the avant-garde circles of Gertrude Stein.
His work covers several important stylistic periods: the blue period (1901-1904), which is marked by melancholy, and the rose period (1904-1906), which is more tender and poetic.
In 1907, with Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, he made a radical breakthrough and, together with Georges Braque, laid the foundations of Cubism.
A versatile artist, Picasso also worked in sculpture, collage, ceramics and theatre.
His work was deeply influenced by the upheavals of his time. His painting Guernica (1937), a cry of revolt against the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, has become a universal symbol of the struggle against barbarism.
Picasso continued to work until the end of his life.
He died on 8 April 1973 in Mougins, France, leaving behind a colossal body of work estimated at over 70,000 pieces.
His works can be found in the world's most important museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Tate Modern in London, the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, and several museums dedicated to him in Paris, Barcelona and Malaga.