Pablo Picasso: Prolific Genius
By Melissa Montgomery

Les demoiselles D’Avignon by Pablo Picasso

The name Pablo Picasso is synonymous with the term ‘Modern art’. Picasso’s extensive body of work estimates range from 20,000-50,000 pieces of art work: paintings, sculptures, mosaics, theatre design and graphic arts are by far the largest body of work of any artist in history.

Born in Malaga, Spain in 1881 Picasso was the son of a painter and professor of art. Pablo’s sister died in 1885 and the family relocated to Barcelona. Recognizing his son’s talent for drawing, Pablo’s’ father had him sit for the advanced entrance exams at the school of fine Arts. At the age of 13, Pablo completed a month exam in the space of one week and was accepted.

By the time Picasso was 16 his father wanted him to go to the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. Picasso studied there briefly but the independent Pablo he did not like the school and in 1900 he quit school and set out for Paris. He travelled back and forth from Paris before moving there permanently in 1904.

He shared an apartment with the poet Max Jacob, and together they suffered. They had to take turns sleeping and working because the apartment only had one bed. Often Pablo burned his art work so they could have heat. There was seldom money for food.

The experience in Paris was vital to the development of Pablo’s craft: Pablo absorbed the techniques of many famous post- impressionist artists of the day; Van Gogh, Cézanne, Seurat, and Gauguin. Pablo would not have seen their work or even heard of them had he remained in Spain. Picasso began to incorporate their use of light colors into his own work and in 1901 he had his first show. Located at the gallery belonging to Ambroise Voillard (who represented many of the post impressionists Pablo had been so influenced by), the exhibition consisted of drawings and paintings in a wide variety of styles. The show was a success and critics were quick to announce the arrival of a big new talent. Pablo received many commissions because of the success of the exhibition and did not have to burn his work anymore to stay warm at night. And he started signing his work with the famous “Picasso “signature.

Pablo’s extensive body of work is divided into periods: early works, the blue period the rose period cubism, and later works. The blue period begins in 1901 after the suicide of his friend, Casagemas. Traumatized by the event Pablo’s work takes on a somber hue of blues. The disenfranchised are depicted in these works, the poor the indigent, prostitutes and prisoners. Some of the more famous paintings from the blue period include: La Vie (featuring his dearly departed friend Casagemas), Crouching Woman and Woman in a Chemise.

Family of Saltimbanques by Pablo Picasso


In 1905 Pablo abandoned the Blue period and began the work known as the Rose period- bright red and pink colors often depicting parties or circus scenes. The migrant community of magicians, performers, musicians and clowns known in French as les Saltimbanques, is captured in the famous painting: Family of Saltimbanques, in which a harlequin clown with Picasso’s features appears. He attracted many wealthy American patrons and was beginning to become famous in America.

Cubism is the term applied to the work between 1907 -1912 when Picasso and Georges Braques literally took objects apart to see how they were put together and then recreated the results on canvas (analytic cubism) . They further explored cubism and made the first collages which were termed (synthetic cubism). The most famous piece from this period is Les Demoiselles D’Avignon.

Picasso’s prolific career lasted through the first and second world war. He embraced the neoclassicism of the 1920’s and 1930’s. He stayed in Paris during the German occupation and continued working despite orders from the Nazis to produce no art. He began to produce sculptures and mosaics in the 1950’s and 1960’s, challenging the techniques of the time and selling his work constantly.

Pablo Picasso never stopped creating art and despite a tempestuous personal life, always found time and money to pursue what he did best. He died in 1973 at a dinner party at home surrounded by friends.

Photograph of Pablo Picasso

Guernica by Pablo Picasso

Picasso was a Spanish painter and sculptor born in Malaga, Spain as the first child to Jose Ruiz y Blasco and Maria Picasso y Lopez. He is known as one of the founders of cubism along with Georges Braque. In his lifetime Picasso created about 13000 paintings or designs, 34000 book illustrations, 300 sculptures, and 100000 art prints. Picasso’s father was a painter that specialized in natural bird images and was a famous professor of art in the School of Crafts. Picasso’s father tutored him in art, teaching him drawing and oil painting. Picasso went to school for carpentry throughout his childhood, but did not finish his college courses at the Academy of Arts in Madrid. In many of Picasso’s earliest works he uses images of harlequins, which are humorous characters sporting checkered clothing. The harlequin eventually became a symbol for Picasso. In the 1930’s the painter picked up a new symbol, the minotaur to replace the harlequin motif, most likely because of his interaction with the surrealists who often used the minotaur as a symbol. You’ll find an example of this in Picasso’s Guernica painting.

Picasso’s work can be divided into 5 different periods:

1. The Blue Period – ranged from 1901 to 1904 and consisted of low intensity blue paintings that were the result of the suicide of Carlos Casagemas, a close friend to Picasso. The Blue Period features acrobats, harlequins, paupers, various artists, and women of the night.

2. The Rose Period – ranged from 1905 to 1907 and was characterized by more upbeat colors including oranges and pinks. Picasso was in Paris at the time and had befriended Fernande Olivier, a model for artists.

3. The African influenced Period – ranged from 1908 to 1909 and was influenced by African artifacts.

4. Analytic Cubism – ranged from 1909 to 1912 and featured the unique cubist style which he developed with Braque using browns and grays. The motive was to pick objects apart and analyze them in terms of shapes and components that make them up. Picasso and Braque’s paintings resemble each other’s at this time.

5. Synthetic Cubism – ranged from 1912 to 1919 in which Picasso used pieces of cut paper to create artwork. He’d paste the fragments of newsprint, magazines, and wallpaper into collages, which were the first to be presented as fine art.

Museums with Picasso's Art

Pablo Picasso at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York
Museum Berggruen (Berlin, Germany)
Museo Picasso Málaga (Málaga, Spain)
Museu Picasso (Barcelona, Spain)
Musée National Picasso (Paris, France)
Musée Picasso (Antibes, France)
Guggenheim Museum Biography
National Gallery of Art list of paintings
Pablo Picasso at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Pablo Picasso List of Works

Absinthe (Girl in a Cafe), 1901
Absinthe Drinker, 1901
Abstract Compositions, 1931
Accordionist, 1911
Accordionist, 1911
Acrobat and Ball, 1905
Acrobat and Young Harlequin
Actor and Child (1905)
Akt, 1910
Ambrose Vollard, 1910
Apollinaire blessé, 1916
Arlequín con espejo, 1923
Arterotismo Gallery - 42 Works
Ascete
At the Lapin Agile, 1905
Autoportrait 'Yo Picasso' (1901)
Autoportrait (1899) ()
Autoportrait (1901) ()
Autoportrait au palette (1906)
Autoportrait(1906)
Bather by the Sea
Bather with a Bull, 1932
Bather, 1909
Bathers with a Toy Boat, 1937
Bathing, 1908
Beggar in a Cap (1895)
Bildhauer mit Modellen vor einer Skulptur, 1933
Bottle of Anis del Mono
Boy Leading a Horse, 1905-06
Boy Leading a Horse, 1905-06
Boy Leading a Horse, 1906
Boy with a Dog, 1905
Briquetterie à Tortoise
Bull Being Pulled by the Tail (1900)
Bullring Scene (1900)
Burial of Casagemas, 1901
Bust of a Woman with a Hat, 1962
Buste de Femme, 1906-07
Buste de Femme, 1943
Busto de Homem (O Atleta), 1909
Buveuse d'absinthe, 1901
Café concert de Malaga (1901)
Carafe, Jug, and Fruit Bowl, 1909
Card Player, 1913-14
Cavalier with Pipe, 1968
Centaur and Bacchant, 1947
Chair Caining, 1912
Chaise au crâne et au livre, 1946
Child with a Dove, 1901
Circus Family, 1905
Clarinet and Violin, 1913
Clown and Young Acrobat, 1905
Composition with Skull, 1908
Crucifixion, 1930
Crucifixion, 1934
Dance of the Veils, 1907
Dance of the Veils, 1907
Dance with Banderillas, 1954
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, 1910
Danseuse (Dancer), 1954
Das Frühstück im Freien, 1961
Death of Casagemas, 1901
Dora Maar au chat, 1941 ()
Dora Maar, 1941
Dorra Maar, 1937
Dorra Marr, 1942
Dream and Life of Franco, 1937
Dryad, 1908
Eingeschlafene Trinkerin, 1902
El Bobo
Entrance to the Bullring (1900) ()
Erotic Gallery
Erotic Works by Pablo Picasso
Face with Leaves, 1956
Face
Family of Saltimbanques, 1905
Farm Woman (Full-Length), 1908
Farm Woman (Half-Length), 1908
Farmer and Nude, Surrounded by Hens, 1938
Faune dévoilant une dormeuse (Juptier et Antiope, d'après Rembrandt), 1936
Female Head, 1902-03
Female Nude and Smoker, 1968
Female Nude and Smoker, 1968
Femme a la Cornelle, 1904
Femme Assise dans un Fauteuil, 1941
Femme Assise, 1941
Femme en Vert, 1909
Femme en vert, 1909
Femme Et Enfant
Femme Lisant, 1920
Femme Nue à la Jambe Pliée, 1931 ()
Femme qui rêve a Venice (1900) ()
Fernande with a Black Mantilla, 1905-06
Figures on a Beach, 1931
First Communion, 1895-96
Fleurs Et Mains
Flowers in a Grey Jar, 1908
Friendship, 1908
From Suite 347
From Suite 347
Fruit in a Vase, 1909
Fruit, Carafe and Glass
Game with Bull's Mask, 1954
Gertrude Stein, 1906
Girl Before a Mirror [Femme au miroir],1932
Girl in a Chemise, c.1905
Girl Reading at a Table, 1934
Girl with a Boat (Maya Picasso), 1938
Girl with a Mandolin (Fanny Tellier),m1910
Glass and Bottle of Suze, 1912
Glass of Absinthe (Le Verre d'absinthe), 1911
Glass Vessels, 1906
Glass, Dice and a Newspaper, 1914
Gourmet
Green Pan and Black Bottle, 1908
Green Still Life, 1914
Guernica, 1937
Guitar and Fruitdish, 1920
Guitar and Violin, ca.1912
Guitar on a Table, 1912
Guitar, 1913
Guitar, Glass and Bottle of Vieux Marc, 1912
Guitare sur un guéridon, 1915
Guitarre, Bouteille et Compotier, 1921
Gunner Guillaume de Kostrowitzky, 1914
Hahn, 1933
Harlequin and his Companion, 1901
Harlequin Family, 1905
Harlequin Musician, 1924
Harlequin with Violin ("Si tu veux"), 1918
Harlequin, 1901
Head of a Faun, 1949
Head of a Girl, 1947
Head of a Girl, 1950
Head of a Harlequin
Head of a Woman (Bronze), 1909 ()
Head of a Woman (Fernande Olivier), ca.1906
Head of a Woman (Fernande), model 1909
Head of a Woman, 1909
Helmut
Hombre con clarinete, 1911-1912
Homme a la Pipe, 1968
Homme assise et nu femme (1904)
House in a Garden, 1908
Igor Stravinsky
Infanta Margarita (after Velasques), 1957
Interior with a Girl Drawing, 1935
Intimacy
Jacqueline de Vauvenargues
Jacqueline in Studio, 1957
Jacqueline in the Studio, 1956
Jacqueline in the Studio, 1956
Jacqueline Rocque, 1954
Jacqueline Rocque, 1955
Jacqueline Rocque, 1958
Jacqueline Rocque. 1957
Jacqueline with Flowers, 1954
Jacqueline, 1960
Jester on Horseback, 1905
Juggler
L'Absinthe, 1901
L'Acrobate Bleu, 1929
L'Homme au Piano, 1914
La Belle Hollandaise (1905)
La chata (1899)
La Dance 1956
La Danse Villageoise, 1922
La Minotauromachie (Minotauromachy), 1935
La Muse, 1935
La Ronde
La Soupe, 1902
La Toilette, 1906
La Vie, 1903
Ladies on the Sein (after Courbet), 1950
Lady with a Fan
Landscape at Céret, 1911
Landscape with Bridge
Las Meninas (After Velazquez)
Le Buffet Catalan, 1943
Le Dejeuner sur l' herbe (after Manet), 1960
Le Divan Japonais, 1901
Le Gourmet
Le Minotaure, 1928
Le Moulin de la Galette, 1900
Le Repas Frugal, 1904
Le Sauvetage, 1932
Le Taureau
Le Tub (The Blue Room) (1901)
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907 (Masters Gallery)
Les deux femmes nues (Two Nudes), 1946
Les deux saltimbanques, 1901
Les fugitifs (1901)
Les Trois Amis,
Life, 1903
Lobster and Cat, 1965
Lunch on the Grass
Luncheon on the Grass. After Manet, 1961
Ma Jolie (Woman with a Guitar), 1911-12
Man with a Hat, 1912
Man with a Pipe, 1911
Man with the Golden Helmet, 1969
Mandolin and Guitar, 1924
Many Paintings Online
Many Sculptures Online
Marie-Therese Walter, 1937
Matador et Femme Nue, 1970
Matador Luis Miguel Dominguin, 1897
Maternite
Mateu and Angel de Soto with Anita(1903)
Mateu Fernández de Soto, 1901
Maya with a Doll, 1938
Meditation (Contemplation) (1904)
Melancholy Woman
Minotaur and Dead Mare, 1936
Minotaur and His Wife, 1937
Minotaur Caressing a Sleeping Woman, 1933
Minotaur with a Javelin and Woman Hostage, 1934
Minotaure vaincu (Minotaur Defeated) from Suite Vollard, 1933
Minotaure, 1933
Monolithic Nude, 1958
Mother and Child by the Sea
Mother and Child, 1921-22
Motherhood, 1901
Mujer acostada, 1931
Music and Cupid
Musical Instruments, 1912
Naked Youth, 1905
Nature Morte aux Tulipes, 1932
Nature Morte, 1922
Nature morte, bouteille, 1912
Natureza-Morta com Melancia e Cacto, 1948
New Year
Night Fishing at Antibes, 1939
Nu aux mains serrees, 1905-06
Nu Couche et Tete, 1972
Nu sur le Fond Rouge, 1906
Nu sur un Divan, 1960
Nude (Bust), 1907
Nude (Half-Length), 1907
Nude Boy, 1906
Nude Combing Her Hair (1906)
Nude Combing Her Hair, 1906
Nude in a rocking chair, 1956
Nude in an Armchair with a Bottle of Evian Water, a Glass and Shoes, 1959
Nude in an Armchair, 1932
Nude in an Armchair, 1929
Nude in an Armchair, 1959
Nude in the Garden, 1934
Nude Madeleine (1905)
Nude on a Beach, 1929
Nude Queen of the Amazons with Servant, 1960
Nude with Drapery (Study for "La Grande Danseuse"), 1907
Nude Woman in a Red Armchair, 1932
Nude Woman with Child
Nude Woman, 1910
Nude Woman
Nude, 1912
Nudity (1901)
Nusch Éluard, 1938
Old Jew and a Boy
Olga Koklova, Picasso's First Wife, 1923
Olga lisant, 1920
On the Beach (La Baignade), 1937
Pablo Picasso by Arnold Newman
Painter and Model, 1928
Painter Working, observed by a nude model, 1931
Pallares
Paloma and Claude, Children of Picasso, 1950
Paloma Picasso, 1956
Paloma Playing with Tadpoles, 1954
Paul as Harlequin, 1924
Peasant Woman, 1908
Pedro Mañach
Pen & Ink
Picador and Monosabio (1900)
Picasso's Mother, 1923
Picasso, Pablo, Mural in Barcelona
Pientre devant son Chevalet, 1927
Pierrot and Harlequin, 1920
Pierrot et Arlequin
Pierrot
Pipe and Sheet Music, 1914
Pipe, Glass, Bottle of Vieux Marc, 1914
Pitcher and Bowls, 1908
Pitcher with Face
Portrait de Bendetta Canals (1905)
Portrait de Bibi-la-pureé (1901)
Portrait de Carles Casagemas (1899)
Portrait de Gertrude Stein (1906)
Portrait de jeune fille (1901)
Portrait de Pierre Manach (1901)
Portrait de Ramon Surinach i Senties (1900)
Portrait Max Jacob, 1907
Portrait of a Sitting Woman, 1960
Portrait of a Woman, 1910
Portrait of a Writer (1900)
Portrait of Benet Soler, 1903
Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, 1910
Portrait of Dora Maar Seated
Portrait of Dora Maar, 1937
Portrait of Fernande Olivier, 1906
Portrait of Fernande Olivier, 1909
Portrait of Françoise, 1946
Portrait of Gertrude Stein, 1906
Portrait of Gustave Coquiot, 1901
Portrait of Man in a Hat, 1971
Portrait of Manuel Pallares
Portrait of Mme Olga Picasso, 1922-23
Portrait of Nusche Eluard, 1937
Portrait of Olga, 1923
Portrait of Paul Picasso as a Child, 1923
Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1896
Porträt einer jungen Frau nach Cranach d. Jg., 1958
Pot, Glass and Book, 1908
Poverty, 1903
Pregnant Woman, 1950
Pregnant Woman, Sculpture, 1950
Prints by Picasso (Many works online)
Profiles, 1967
Rape of the Sabine Women, 1963
Reclining Nude, 1932
Reclining Woman Reading, 1960
Rembrandt and Saskia (after Rembrandt), 1963
Rembrandt et Saskia, 1963
Rembrandt Figure and Eros, 1969
Reservoir at Horta (MK)
Retrato de Suzanne Bloch, 1904
Rooster
Ruth Dangler, 1922
Sabartes with His Beer, 1901
Sada Yacco (1901)
Salomé dansant pour Hérode. Etching, 1971
Sculptor and model kneeling, 1933 ()
Sculptor and Reclining Model, 1933
Sculptural Face (Cara escultórica), 1931 ()
Seated Bather, 1930
Seated Nude and Standing Nude, 1907
Seated Nude, 1934
Seated Woman with Fish Hat, 1942
Seated Woman, 1908
Seated Woman
Seibu 1984 Portrait
Self and Monster, 1929
Self Portrait (Yo Picasso), 1901
Self Portrait, 1896
Self Portrait, 1899-1900
Self Portrait, 1901
Self Portrait, 1901
Self Portrait, 1906
Self Portrait, 1907
Self Portrait, 1907
Self Portrait, 1907
Self Portrait, 1972
Self Portrait
Self-Portrait in Blue Period, 1901
Self-Portrait, 1901/1902
Self-Portrait, 1906
Self-Portrait, 1938
Self-Portrait, 1972
Shakespeare
She-Goat, 1950
Silhouette of Picasso and Young Girl Crying, 1940
Sketch for The Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907
Sketch of Set for "Le 14 Juillet" by Romain Rolland, 1936
Sketch Page with Nude and Classical Heads, 1931 ()
Skull and Pitcher,1945
Sleeping Peasants, 1919
Snackbar in the Open Air (1900)
Spanish Couple in front of an Inn, 1900
St Anthony and the Harlequin, 1908
Standing Figure, 1908 ()
Still Life with Candle, 1837
Still Life with Chair Caning, 1912
Still Life with Glass and Lemon, 1910
Still Life with Glassware, 1906
Still Life with Goblet, 1914
Still Life with Guitar, 1914
Still Life with Violin and Fruit
Still Life, 1924
Still-life with mask, 4 March 1937
Still-Life, 1937
Strolling Gymnasts, 1901
Studio with Plaster Head, 1925
Study for 'Boy Leading a Horse' (1906)
Study for 'Science and Charity' (1897)
Study of a Nude Woman, ca.1905-06 ()
Stuffed Shirts (Les Plastrons), 1900
Table in a Cafe, 1912
Tavern, 1914
Tete de femme, 1972 ()
Tetes D'enfants et de Chevaux, 1945
The Absinthe Drinker (1901)
The Artist's Mother (Maria Picasso Lopez) (1896)
The Bather
The Bathers, 1937
The Blue Room, 1901
The Bull. State II, 1945
The Burial of Casagemas, 1901
The Charnel House, 1944-45 ()
The Cock of the Liberation, 1944
The Couple (Les Misérables), 1904
The Cup of Coffee, 1913
The Dance of the Fauns, 1957
The Divan (1899-1900)
The Dove
The Dream, 1932
The Embrace (1900)
The Embrace, 1903
The Fall of Icarus
The Family of Saltimbanques, 1905
The Frugal Meal, 1904
The Frugal Repast, 1904
The Girl on a Ball, 1905
The Italian Girl, 1917
The King of the Minotaurs, 1958
The Kiss (1904)
The Kiss, 1969
The Letter (1899)
The Lovers (Picasso and Fernande)(1904)
The Lovers, 1923 ()
The Old Guitar Player, 1903
The Old Guitarist, 1903
The Painter (after El Greco), 1950
The Peasants (The Flower Vendor) (1906)
The Picador (1900-01)
The Pipes of Pan, 1923
The Poet (Le Poète), 1911
The Rape of the Sabine Women, 1962-63
The Rape, 1920
The Rower, 1910
The Small Table, 1919
The Studio (L’Atelier), 1928
The Three Graces, 1925
The Tragedy, 1903
The Yellow Sweater, 1939
Three Musicians, 1921
Three Women at the Fountain, 1921
Three Women at the Spring, 1921
Three Women, 1908
Three Women, rythmic version, 1908
Toalete (Fernande), 1906
Tragedy, 1903
Trois femmes nues au bord de la mar, 1921 ()
Tumblers, 1905
Two Doves with Wings Spread, 1960
Two Female Nudes
Two Nudes, 1906
Two Priests in a Street (1899)
Two Saltimbanques (Harlequin and His Companion)(1901)
Two Sisters (The Meeting), 1902
Two Women Before a Sculpted Head
Two Youths
Tête de femme (Dora Maar), 1941
Ulysees and the Sirens, 1947
Un verre sur une table (A Glass on a Table), 1913
Valdiva
Vase de Fleurs, 1943
Vase, Bowl and Lemon, 1907
Vauvenargues
Violin and Guitar
Violin, 1912
War and Peace
Weeping Woman, 1937
Woman Dressing Her Hair, 1940
Woman in a Blue Hat, 1901
Woman in a Café (1901)
Woman in a Chemise
Woman in a Hat with Flowers, 1944
Woman in a Yellow Armchair, 1932
Woman in an Armchair, 1913
Woman in an Armchair, 1960
Woman in Green (1901)
Woman Ironing (1904)
Woman Leaning on a Table (1901)
Woman Reclining
Woman Seated in an Armchair
Woman Seated, 1908
Woman with a Cigarette
Woman with a Crow, 1904
Woman with a Fan, 1907
Woman with a Fish Hat, 1942
Woman with a Flower, 1932 ()
Woman with a Helmet of Hair, 1904
Woman with a Lap Dog (1901)
Woman with a Mandolin, 1909
Woman with Bird, 1966
Woman with Cat, 1900
Woman with Green Hair, 1949
Woman with Outstretched Arms, 1961
Woman with Pears, 1909
Woman with Tambourine, 1938
Woman with the Plumed Hat, 1901
Woman with Yellow Hair, 1931
Woman’s Head (Tête de femme), 1931
Women and Child by the Sea, 1920
Women Running on the Beach, 1922
World Without Weapons
Young Girl Reading a Book on the Beach, 1937
Young Girl Throwing a Rock, 1931
Young Girl with a Goat, 1906
Young Girl with Drawing of Male Head and Nude seen from the Back, 1933
Young Girl, 1906
Young Tormented Girl, 1939
Étude pour autoportrait 'Yo Picasso' (1901)