All About Spanish Artist Pablo Picasso

The Blue Period (1901-04)

When Picasso’s best friend, Carlos Casagemas, died in 1901, he felt very sad. His paintings at this time showed how he felt. This period of Picasso‘s career is called the Blue Period because most of his paintings were in shades of blue. They looked a little gloomy and had people with long faces and sad expressions. Some of his most famous paintings from this time are The Old Guitarist and Poor People on the Seashore. Even though these paintings were sad, they were also beautiful and full of feeling.

The Rose Period (1904-06)

After the sadness of the Blue Period, Picasso started feeling happier. He moved from Spain to France and fell in love with a model, and his paintings became brighter and full of warm colors like pink, orange, and red. This period of his career is called the Rose Period. Picasso painted cheerful scenes of circuses, performers, and happy moments. Some of his well-known works from this time include Mother and Child and The Peasants. These paintings show a happier side of Picasso.

Cubism (1907-21)

Picasso was always eager to try new things, and in 1907, he and another artist, Georges Braque, invented an art style called Cubism. This was really different from anything anyone had ever seen. Picasso’s Cubist paintings turned objects into pieces that were different shapes and then put them back together in strange ways. He also added texture to some of his paintings by making collages on the canvas with different types of paper or putting sand into the paint. Three Musicians and Portrait of Ambroise Vollard are some of Picasso’s most famous Cubist paintings.

Trying New Styles

Picasso was always looking for new ways of painting, so in the early 1920s, he went in a totally different direction with his art. He began to paint in a more classical style, influenced by old Renaissance artists like Raphael. The amount of detail he put into his paintings made them look almost three-dimensional. Some of his most well-known pieces from this period are Woman in White and The Pipes of Pan.

A few years later, Picasso made more big changes to his art. He became interested in Surrealism, a type of art that shows things that don’t really make sense, things that might exist in dreams but not in the real world. Surrealist art is strange, fun, and sometimes a little mysterious. Picasso didn’t consider himself to be a Surrealist, but this type of art did influence his work. Examples of pieces with a Surrealist influence include The Red Armchair and Guernica.

• What Are the Major Art Periods of Pablo Picasso?
• Who Is Pablo Picasso?

Fun Facts About Picasso

• Picasso’s full name is actually 23 words long: It’s Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Crispín Crispiniano María de los Remedios de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz Picasso. That’s a mouthful!
• Picasso was really interested in the Minotaur, a mythical creature with a man’s body and a bull’s head. It was featured in a lot of his paintings.
• During his career, Picasso painted more than 1,800 paintings and made 1,200 sculptures.
• There are multiple museums all over the world dedicated to Picasso’s art, including three in Spain.
• Many of Picasso’s works have been sold for more than $100 million!

Picasso-Inspired Art Projects

• How to Draw Cubist Faces
• Picasso-Inspired Ornaments
• Collage Portrait Craft for Kids
• Picasso-Inspired Self-Portrait
• Introduction to Cubism: Painting Picasso Portraits
• Make a Picasso Self-Portrait
• Musician Collages
• Make Art Together: Picasso Portraits
• How to Make Picasso Collages for Kids
• How to Get Spanish Citizenship
• Art Challenge: How to Draw Pigasso
• Cardboard Guitar Inspired by Picasso Sculptures
• Cool Picasso-Inspired Portrait Art Project
• Understanding the Spanish Golden Visa
• Picasso Faces Art Project for Young Students
• Picasso’s Cubism-Inspired Abstract Art Project