The video above is of Picasso drawing on a very large white piece of white paper or canvas. An artist is truly magical when creating art. Picasso has experimented with many styles, often being called the Founder of Cubism, but one of my favorite styles is that for which The Dove of Peace was created. The video is of Pablo Picasso drawing in that same style.
There is a consistent theme throughout Picasso’s paintings: women. Picasso is not only known for his paintings of women in many forms – cubism and realism alike – but also for his real life womanizing. An examination of the women in Picasso’s life can be done by a close look at his paintings over the years.
1904-1912
Muse #1: Fernande Olivier
Olivier was Picasso’s first long term relationship lasting over 7 years.
1912-1915
Muse #2: Eva Gouel
Eva Gouel died in 1915 at the age of thirty of tuberculosis, leaving Picasso to profess his love for her by painting “I Love Eva” in some of his paintings.
1917-1927
Muse #3: Olga Khokhlova
Olga is Picasso’s first wife and the mother of his first child, Paulo, born in 1921.
1927-1936
Muse #4: Marie-Therese Walter
Marie is the mother of Picasso’s second child, Maya, born in 1935. Picasso met and dated Marie while still married to Olga.
1936-1944
Muse #5: Dora Maar
Dora was a photographer who documented Picasso’s painting of Guernica.
1943-1953
Muse #6: Francoise Gilot
Francoise is the mother of two more of Picasso’s children: Claude, born in 1947, and Paloma, born in 1949.
1951-1953
Muse #7: Genevieve Laporte
Genevieve began her affair with Picasso when she was 17 and he 70. Her affair continued until 1953 when she ultimately ended the relationship the same time as his other girlfriend, Francoise.
1953-1973
Muse #7: Jacqueline Roque
Jacqueline became Picasso’s second wife in 1961. Picasso painted more images of Jacqueline than any other woman he had been with.
Reference:
The Women of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Saper Galleries
http://sapergalleries.com/PicassoWomen.html
Name: Pablo Ruiz Picasso
Birth: October 25, 1881, Malaga, Spain
Death: April 8, 1973, Mougins France
Parents: father, Jose Ruiz Blasco, and mother, Maria Picasso Lopez
Children: sons, Paulo and Claude and daughters, Maya and Paloma
Notable: Considered by some to be Founder of Cubism
Early Years: Grew up in Spain. Entered into Barcelona’s School of Fine Arts in 1892. First major painting debuted in 1896 – “The First Communion.” Caught scarlet fever in 1898.
Famous Works: Guernica, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, The Old Guitarist, Three Musicians, Garcon a la pipe
Quote:
“Everyone wants to understand art. Why don’t we try to understand the song of a bird? Why do we love the night, the flowers, everything around us, without trying to understand them? But in the case of a painting, people think they have to understand. If only they would realize above all that an artist works of necessity, that he himself is only an insignificant part of the world, and that no more importance should be attached to him than to plenty of other things which please us in the world though we can’t explain them; people who try to explain pictures are usually barking up the wrong tree.” - Picasso
Reference:
The Art History Archive – Cubism http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/cubism/Pablo-Picasso.html
Before Picasso began painting work that can be typified as Cubism, he experimented with many styles. While Picasso found his true niche and ultimately his fame with his Cubist paintings, Picasso’s artwork outside of this genre is still quite as spectacular.
The Dove of Peace
Two Women on the Beach
La Celestina
The above painting is entitled Woman in Blue by Pablo Picasso. There has been considerable debate over who this woman is if in fact Picasso painted this image of real person. Many believe the woman to be the mother of Picasso’s children. Art aficionado Charles Chetham of Harvard University explains why he believes the Woman in Blue to be the mother of Picasso’s children.
Recently, the Fogg Museum has had the good fortune to receive as an anonymous gift an important painting now entitled “Woman in Blue,” but which may be a portrait of Francois Gilot, the mother of Picasso’s children, Claude and Paloma. [. . . ] Francoise’s expression is enigmatic. In it, some see fear; others, anticipation; some, sorrow – all sense the tension conveyed. The great eyes are wide open; they might be counter-proofs of one another. The displacement of mouth to the left is made emphatic by the profile contour of the chin directly beneath it. To the left of the face, a linear device combining line and “knobs” sets a formal motif which underlies the entire structure of the painting. In varied form, the same motif is seen in the chair and in all areas of the woman’s body. This decorative element was a favorite of Picasso’s in 1949. Yet, it is not the decorative complication, striking as it is, which attracts and holds attention. Instead, it is the strange intensity of the highly colored image. The woman, sitting straightforward in her chair, stares almost as if hypnotized by the artist. Her body, totally exposed to the most casual glance, discloses the second life within. Francoise Gilot gave birth to Picasso’s daughter Paloma in 1949, the year in which this painting was executed.
Reference:
