One of the greatest artists the world has ever seen, Pablo Ruiz Picasso is famous for laying the foundation of the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture and collage.
Born Spanish the legendary painter spent most of his adult life in France. He started painting at the age of seven and continued till his death at the age of 91. He has created enormous numbers of artwork in his lifetime, which included over 1,800 paintings, more than 4000 sculptures and ceramics, around 12,000 drawings and thousands of prints.
Picasso has always pushed the artistic boundaries, creating artworks like no other. Some of the artworks are preserved and are still relevant.
So, Let’s check out the painter’s some of the most celebrated works which have left a mark on the world.
The Tragedy (1903)
This is one of Picasso's early paintings. He has this during his Blue Period. The Blue Period refers to the works produced by Picasso between 1901 and 1904 when he painted essentially monochromatic paintings in shades of blue and blue-green. These paintings depict sombre scenes of misery and despair. It has been said that during this time he himself was going through a difficult emotional time so channelled his own personal suffering into his paintings.This painting is still preserved at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) – The young Ladies of Avignon
One of the most controversial paintings of Picasso, this depicts a typical brothel scene with prostitutes and their male customers. Initially, Picasso started it like any other of his painting but later on the basic idea changed. And the end result was a ground-breaking foundation of the cubist movement. Painting of five women in a cubist, abstract and almost collage-like style. Today, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is hailed as an important painting in the history of art. Today it is found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Ma Jolie, My pretty girl (1912)
Picasso's master art was inspired by the chorus of a popular song that Picasso loved to listen to while living in Paris. In this painting, Picasso painted her beautiful young mistress Eva Gouel, who is referred to as Ma Jolie. Picasso painted it in an analytic cubist style. It is the first phase in the evolution of cubism art. This style is characterized by a reduction of forms into basic geometric elements and the use of monochromatic colours. He also combined language by using black lettering and symbolism through musical elements. This laid the foundation of abstract form. Today it is also found at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Guernica (1937)
The most famous painting of Picasso and one of the famous paintings in the world, Guernica holds a strong message. This painting is considered to be the most moving and powerful anti-war masterpieces ever made. The painting was created in reaction to the Nazis bombing and devastating the Basque town of Guernica during Spanish Civil War. The painting is so strong that it holds its relevance even today.
A famous story attached to this painting was that, when a German officer allegedly asked Picasso, upon seeing a photo of Guernica in Picasso's apartment, He asked Picasso"Did you do that?" Picasso responded, "No, you did.”
Today this painting is found in the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid
Other than these paintings, Les Femmes d’Alger, the weeping woman, and the old guitarist are some more paintings that are also highly celebrated across the world.
