Pablo Picasso Case

Work of Most Significance 1880-1945

Cubism in France occurred in the early 1900s, c.1907-14, the artists included Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), George Braque (1882-1963) and Juan Gris (1887-1927). The movement primarily aimed to challenge the traditional Greek, Roman and Renaissance representation of figures and their beauty. Cubism can be split into three different phases. The early work (1907-09) of the cubists was highly influenced by and was a further development of Paul Cezanne's (1839-1906) multi-viewpoint style and representation of three dimensional forms. These works also display a clear African tribal art influence and primitive qualities. Analytical cubism (c.1910-1912) was dominated by monochrome palettes and the collage technique, with use of letter forms, from newspapers, playing on wit. The Synthetic period (c.1913-14) saw the work of the artists becoming more unique and them regaining colour in their work.

But by far the most notable artist of Cubism was Pablo Picasso. Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain. His father was an art teacher and also an artist, who taught his son how to paint from an early age. He showed promising talent as an artist whilst at a young age. In 1895 Picasso uprooted to Barcelona in order to attend Spain's prestigious School of Fine Arts. However Picasso had little tolerance for the rules of the school and began skipping class. In 1897 Picasso enrolled in the Royal Academy of San Fernando, Madrid. Picasso's dislike for rules and regulations led him to join a bohemian group of intellectuals and artists in Barcelona in 1899. There he began to explore his innovative style and experiment.

At the turn of the century Picasso moved to Paris where he began his notorious blue period in which he painted depressing, frightening scenes of poverty, suffering and isolation all in varying shades of blues and greens. His most renowned being Blue Nude and The Old Guitarist painted