Pablo Picasso: The "Genius Creator" of 20th-century Art

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), a great Spanish artist, lived for nearly 91 years and created an amazing 37,000 works. Picasso became one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Western modern art.

Picasso not only founded the Cubist school but also broke traditional rules in painting, sculpture, printmaking and other fields. Picasso redefined the boundaries of "artistic creation". His artistic ideas and practices ran through the entire 20th century and deeply shaped the development of modern western art.

I. Life Path: From a Talented Teenager to an Art Innovator

In 1881, Picasso was born into an artistic family in Málaga, Spain. His father taught him to paint, which helped him show his talent early.

At the age of 16, he won a gold medal with his work. When he was 17, he entered the top fine art school in Madrid for further study. However, he dropped out early because he hated the rigid education there.

In 1900, 20-year-old Picasso moved to Paris for the first time. In this art capital, he started his art career with different styles and began to be a modern art innovator.

We can clearly divide Picasso’s artistic life into several stages. Each stage reflects his different life experiences and artistic thoughts:

• In his early years, he went through a low point when a friend committed suicide. This led to his "Blue Period" (1901-1904), during which he used blue and green tones to depict the hardships of the lower classes. His works at this stage were full of compassion for life.

• After meeting his lover, Picasso’s painting style underwent a warmer shift. The "Rose Period" (1904-1906) used rose colors and circus elements, and these things created a warm, bright atmosphere in his works.

• Inspired by African sculptures, Picasso entered the "African and Proto-Cubist Period" (1906-1909), where he explored geometric breaking-down. Later, he developed Analytical and Synthetic Cubism, further breaking the traditional painting framework.

• Around World War II, Picasso moved between Neoclassicism and Surrealism, constantly trying new possibilities in artistic expression.

• In his later years, Picasso still refused to cease his innovations. Picasso continued to explore new art forms such as ceramics and stage design until he passed away in Mougins, France, in 1973. Picasso spent his whole life showing his dedication to art.

II. Masterpieces: Recording the Times with Colors and Lines

Picasso's works were always closely linked to his life experiences and the pulse of the times. Each classic work carries his observations and thoughts about the world. People see four of these works as important art works, and they show Picasso’s different art styles clearly.

• Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907): This masterpiece of Proto-Cubism was a key turning point in Picasso's artistic career. The work completely broke the rules about human body structure and perspective of traditional painting. It decomposed women's bodies into rough geometric blocks. Even though its bold style made a stir back then, it became a "pioneering work" for modern artists and made Picasso’s new spot in modern art firm.

• Guernica (1937): Picasso painted this large scale mural to say "no" to the Nazis bombing a small Spanish town. It’s a famous work that shows he cared about real problems in the world. The work uses black, white and gray as the main tones.

Through twisted bodies, screaming faces and broken symbols, it visualizes the cruelty of war. It has become an eternal symbol of anti-war art and made more people see the deep humanistic care in Picasso's works.

• Boy with a Pipe (1905): This is a classic work from the "Rose Period" and it fully shows Picasso’s artistic features at this stage. In soft pink tones, a boy wearing a garland holds a pipe, showing the warmth of youth. This work not only shows how Picasso’s style changed but also sold for 104.16 million US dollars at Sotheby’s auction on May 5, 2004. It shows the artistic value and market recognition of Picasso's works.

• Still Life with Chair Caning (1912): As a milestone of Synthetic Cubism, it was another major breakthrough in Picasso's artistic form. The work used cut paper pieces and pasted them into the picture for the first time, creating the precedent of "collage art". It made daily materials part of artistic creation, expanded the boundaries of artistic expression and provided new ideas for future art innovation.

III. Artistic Achievements: A Monument of Cross-Border and Diverse Creations

Picasso's achievements went far beyond founding a single school of painting. Picasso was worthy of being an "all-round master of art". His artistic practice covered many fields, and each achievement was of great significance to the development of modern art:

• Founding a School: Picasso and Georges Braque co-founded Cubism. By decomposing and putting together objects from multiple perspectives, they broke the centuries-old realistic tradition of the West. Cubism is not only an artistic style but also reshaped the way people view art and the world. It has become one of the most influential schools in the history of modern art.

• Cross-Border Breakthroughs: Picasso's creative fields were very wide. Picasso not only left 1,885 oil paintings and 7,089 sketches but also created 20,000 prints and more than 6,000 lithographs.

Picasso also had classic works in sculpture, ceramics and stage design. In addition, Picasso showed his literary talent by writing more than 300 poems and two Surrealist plays. All these fully reflect the diversity of his art.

• Impressions of the Times: Picasso’s works always connected closely with the times.  In his "Blue Period", he depicted the hardships of the lower classes.  In Guernica, he condemned the atrocities of war.  He also kept exploring artistic forms and value social reality.  

His works became visual notes of 20th-century history and emotions.  They let people look back on that eventful era through art.

IV. Profound Influence: The "Spiritual Godfather" of Modern Art

Picasso's impact on art was not limited to his time. His influence continues to this day, and he is respected as the "spiritual godfather" of modern art:

• Breaking Creative Boundaries: Through his practice, Picasso proved that art does not have to "imitate nature". You can create art through subjective breaking-down, collage putting-together and even using daily waste. This idea broke the chains of traditional art. It opened the way for future installation art and ready-made art.It also gave more possibilities to artistic creation.

• Inspiring Future Schools: As an important artistic achievement of Picasso, Cubism directly gave birth to many modern art schools such as Fauvism, Expressionism, Abstract Art and Pop Art. Picasso's pursuit of "formal autonomy" deeply influenced generations of artists such as Henri Matisse and Wassily Kandinsky, and promoted the continuous development of modern art.

• Reshaping Art Cognition: With his life-long style changes, Picasso proved that "art lies in innovation". Picasso totally got rid of the thought that "art must follow fixed rules" and made "the artist's own expression" the core of creation. This idea changed how people see art, guided future artists, and made modern art have a lively scene with many kinds of art doing well.

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