French Celebrities Bio | Pablo Picasso

Need to know: Pablo Picasso

Born in 1881, the young Spaniard Pablo Picasso was something of a child prodigy, able to copy celebrated works by his artistic antecedents with some ease. But it was as a teenager, when he began to frequent Barcelona’s intellectual cafes that his rebellious streak emerged. He soon went to Paris – the art capital of the epoch – and soaked up the influence of the likes of booked-soaked genius Toulouse-Lautrec.

By 1901 Picasso settled into his famous Blue Period – the colour palette he chose reflecting the outcast, melancholy nature of his subjects, from prostitutes to beggars. Another shift in approach followed in 1904 with his Rose Period. With this lighter, brighter palette of beiges and pinks he depicted eerily static circus characters.

By 1905 he was to be heavily influenced by Matisse and Rousseau and also took to sculpting, inspired by both Iberian and African art. But it was in 1907 that he painted Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon, leading the way to Cubism in tandem with Georges Braques. With is flattening and overlapping of three-dimensional forms and use of collage, the movement preceded surrealism and changed art forever.

Later in life, his most compelling painting Guernica (1937) depicted the bombing of the town in the Spanish Civil War while in old age he remained prolific, with an output of paintings, etchings, more ground-breaking sculpture and ceramics. He died in Mougins in 1973 and today remains a giant amongst 20th-century artists.

Where to go:

In Paris, alas, the main house of Musee Picasso in Le Marais is closed for a refurbishment until 2012.

See www.musee-picasso.fr for more information – when it reopens you will be able to see many of his famous works plus some from his own collection including pieces by Braque, Matisse and Cezanne.

To get a real feel for the latter day Picasso you will need to head south. He was inspired by the mythology and sunlight of the Mediterranean and made the region his home. In Antibes you can visit the Musee Picasso, housed in the old Grimaldi castle.

See www.antibes-juanlespins.com for visitor information, as well as some historical detail on his time there in the company of Françoise Gilot.