Pablo Picasso Essay Example for Free

Pablo Picasso Essay Every artist demonstrates their thoughts and point of view of nature and of the Earth. Their masterpieces portray their artistic identity, mastery, skills and techniques. Some of them have been the founder(s) of a particular art movement, which greatly affects other artists of the world. Pablo Picasso, one of the most renowned modern artists in history, is one of the pioneers of Cubism, along with Georges Braque, who strongly exemplifies and reveals the mentioned art movement and style in his Les Demoiselles D’Avignon, The Guernica and the Three Musician, each of which would be formally evaluated and analyzed. The artistic intelligence of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) created a great impact in the development of modern and contemporary art. His masterpieces include over 20,000 works including paintings, drawings, sculptures, theater sets, prints, ceramics and costumes that delineate a number of intellectual, social, political, and ardent messages. His styles has gone beyond and transcended realism and abstraction, Cubism, Expressionism, Surrealism and Neoclassicism. Pablo Picasso was born at Malaga Spain in October 25, 1881 to Jose Ruiz Blasco and Maria Picasso Y Lopez. At the age of eight, he started to paint but his drawings were very much different from the children of his age. Even when he was young, Picasso already had a highly systematic approach to art. At the end of 1897, he studied in Madrid but later on, he dropped out of school because his teachers could not help him solve the technical problems he had. Furthermore, he endeavored to become a Classical painter similar to Rembrandt or Velasquez; however, no matter how good he was at the age of 16, still he could not contest the old masters. In the year 1899 and 1900, his style was altered radically. His works showed a more romantic manner. Since then, he began to flourish, absorbing all the dominant styles of his epoch. Nevertheless, it was in between 1907 and 1914 in Paris when he discovered a new style by which the French art critic Louis Vauxcelles referred as â€Å"Cubism. † His masterpiece entitled Les Demoiselles D’Avignon divulged that style in 1907. Picasso’s Les Demoiselles D’Avignon expresses and exhibits his ground-breaking style and distortion which is anchored from African Art. In the painting, the figures are arranged similar to Cezanne’s composition of bathers but it reveals an influence of primitivism. It manifests through the angular planes and well-defined outlines that create the entire solidity of the images. Moreover, it is composed of five females, all of which are depicted with angular body. The color of the figures are not confined to flesh rather there are red, blue and orange. The title of the painting, which is given by Picasso’s friend, pertains to the cabaret or maison publique on the Avignon Street, Barcelona. It showcases an expression of violence and barbaric intensity of the five women. On the other hand, his Guernica articulates the same form but it is more meaningful and more caricature in style. The themes signify death, bullfight and crucifixion. The figures are more complex as well as the content of the painting, which is illustrated by diverse and mixing images. The painting itself is a representation of the tragic events that occurred in Spain during the year 1937. It is full of political message and thus, summons the very idea of warfare as a heroic incident and renders it as a cruel and atrocious act of self-destruction. However, Picasso’s art possesses a trademark that any symbol can portray many and frequently contradicting meanings. According to Picasso when asked to explain the symbols, â€Å"It isn’t up to the painter to define the symbols. Otherwise it would be better if he wrote them out in so many words. The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as they understand them. † Another painting that depicts Cubism is the Three Musicians. It is a large painting with three figures made up of geometric shapes. The central figure is a Harlequin playing a guitar while on his sides are two musicians. On the left part, is a visible figure of a dog. The work delineates a lively appearance due to its color, orange dominates the plane. The images are figuratively rendered but it can be pulled that they are people with musical instruments with them. They are painted in a way similar to a group performing on stage. Pablo Picasso’s style known as Cubism, as well as his masterpieces, has contributed much to the depiction and understanding of abstract art and modernism. His works portray figurative images wherein every art objects is dominated by symbols that carry a myriad of interpretations and meanings. Because of his discovery of Cubism, paintings have appeared to be a three-dimensional picture plane. His works exhibit harmonious colors and biomorphic sensuality which is exemplified in his Les Demoiselles D’Avignon. Moreover, Picasso paints in such a way that is very much different from other well-known artists of his time because he does not employ in his works landscapes or well-depicted everyday scenes. He upholds in his artistic career his identity of not copying nature and not utilizing traditional techniques, and perspectives. He learns to emphasize his viewpoints of the world through geometry, lively utilization of colors, and somehow calculated perspectives. He demonstrates his activism and political comprehension through symbols too and it is evident in his Guernica. Furthermore, because of his artistic career, identity and discovered style (Cubism), he had been renowned in the world of art. Bibliography â€Å"Guernica: Testimony of War.† (2008). Public Broadcasting Service. Database online. Available from http://www. pbs. org/treasuresoftheworld/guernica/gmain. html. [06 April 2009] Harris, Mark. â€Å"Guernica. † (1996). Web. org. uk. Database online. Available from http://web. org. uk/picasso/guernica. html. [06 April 2009] â€Å"Pablo Picasso, Life and Work,† (n. d). Pablo Picasso Cubism. Database online. Available from http://pablo-picasso. paintings. name/biography/. [06 April 2009] â€Å"Pablo Picasso Painting. † (n. d). Artquotes. net. Database online. Available from http://www. artquotes. net/masters/picasso/pablo_musicians1921. htm. [06 April 2009] Rewald, Sabine. â€Å"Cubism. † (2004). Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Database online. Available from http://www. metmuseum. org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube. htm. [06 April 2009] Voorhies, James. â€Å"Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). † (2004). Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Database online. Available from http://www. metmuseum. org/toah/hd/pica/hd_pica. htm [06 April 2009]