Pablo Picasso

taught by Shannon (USA), illustrated by Ellie and Khloe (USA)

As a painter and a sculptor, Pablo Picasso revolutionized 20 th century art. He developed a completely new type of painting known as Cubism, along with his close collaborator, Braque.

Picasso was born on October 25 1881, in Malaga , Spain . He was the oldest of three children and the only male. His father, Don Jose, was an art teacher. His father only possessed modest talent and had a flair for the unusual and colorful. His unusual flair with art influenced the young Pablo Picasso. His father realized that his son had great talent, so he turned over his paintbrushes to his son and vowed to never paint again.

Picasso began to study the masterpieces on his own, and eventually ended up in Paris , France , which was the greatest center of European art at that time. He studied first-hand the art of Van Gogh, Munch, and Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as other great artists and writers. It was a difficult time of hardship and poverty for him, so his work reflected that with ghostly blues. This period was called the "Blue Period" in Picasso's work.

Picasso developed a new kind of painting known as Cubism. Painting up until this time looked as if it were painted from the viewfinder of a camera. Artists began to explore beyond external appearances, so painters began to flatten out and reassemble images on a canvas. Cubism brought about the greatest change in art in over five centuries by offering more than one point of view.

Picasso enjoyed fame and wealth in the latter part of his life. He created art until he died on April 9, 1973.

We created our own cubism pictures. You can create these in paint or with paper.