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Pablo Picasso enabled the continuous growth and development of the art industry. He has been a significant player in art history from birth until death. Like most artists, Pablo Picasso introduced vital concepts and styles of art and continued with the legacy set by the painters before him. The developments he introduced at different stages of his career, together with those he adopted later, defined the course of art and are applied to date. Picasso contributed to 21st-century art, with his input, the cubist movement, college art style, and realism being illustrated in contemporary pieces.
Picasso’s Life Path
Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, stage designer, printmaker, and ceramist born in 1881 in Spain (McCully, 2022). Picasso practiced at least one of the mentioned artistic skills throughout his life. Picasso’s background, especially his family, was crucial to his career. His father, Ruiz Blasco, was a professor of drawing who used his skills and knowledge to assist Picasso in growing in the painting sphere. At around ten, Picasso’s gift and painting ability manifested; thus, he became his father’s student. His position as his father’s pupil was the foundation of Picasso’s great future in painting. As a result, Picasso learned different concepts and styles of painting.
Consequently, he applied the acquired skills and knowledge to his work. He acquired the realism technique from the lessons since it was deeply ingrained in his father’s teachings. Picasso adopted the realism technique but developed it further by introducing symbolist influences to make it more superior and meaningful. As a result, Picasso developed his unique take or perspective toward modernism. Picasso’s lessons on realism were applied in different paintings that communicated difficult and happy times. The depressive part of Picasso’s life occurred when he moved to France, where he faced poverty, characterized by prostitution and malnutrition. Picasso expressed these times in monochromatic colors and only included warm shades when he experienced success. His discoveries and advancements of the realism concept in art improved his pieces. They provided a path for other artists to emulate to communicate to the target audience more effectively.
Picasso’s Concept of Cubism
Picasso and Braque co-founded the concept of cubism, which became an important discovery and addition to the art sector. Cubism involves showing the entire structure of objects contained in a painting without using perspectives to make them appear more realistic. According to Stella et al. (2019), Picasso’s aim in applying cubism was to clear the painting of the stale conventions that blurred the actual truth and nature of the painting. This innovation caused notable changes in various areas of art. Specifically, cubism altered the overall face of European and sculptors. At the same time, it changed how contemporary architecture, literature, and music were made. In cubism, the subjects involved are separated and broken down before being rearranged in abstract form. The effects of cubism have been far-reaching as they inspire offshoots in futurism and constructivism styles in different regions. This innovation has changed the outlook and approach toward art and defines current styles.
Picasso’s Development of Collage Art
Picasso is also associated with the development of collage art and the definition of the various elements of plastic art. With Braque’s help, Picasso developed and coined the idea of collage art, assembling different forms to create a new whole, often different from the background (Adibi, 2021). Collage art is made of hand-made papers, magazine and newspaper clippings, ribbons, and images from other artworks glued together on a hard surface. The dynamic form and aesthetics of collage art have led to advances in painting, creating sculptors, and ceramics. The developments witnessed in these art forms are attributed to the possibility of manipulating materials that were initially not curved out and shaped into desired shapes and objects (Salado, 2020). As a result, this art form expanded the reach of artists and widened their scope. In general, the 20th century and contemporary artists emulated collage art to expound the scope of art and relate to the audience on a larger scale.
In conclusion, Picasso’s impact on the art sector can be similar to that of Shakespeare in the playwright and Isaac Newton in Physics. In art history, Picasso acquired the highest fame and versatility of all other artists. Picasso was successful throughout his art career, creating a significantly extensive collection of art pieces, including paintings, engravings, and illustrations. In addition to achieving an extensive collection of art, Picasso transformed the things around him, making them more progressive. The innovation of cubism, the introduction of collage art, and the advancement of realism are some crucial changes he made that are emulated to date. Overall, Picasso’s life and career are a legacy that has guided artists throughout the incoming periods.
- Adibi, A. A. (2021). A brief history of collage. In Collage: A Process in Architectural Design (pp. 1–5). Springer, Cham.
- McCully, M. (2022, October 21). Pablo Picasso. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pablo-Picasso
- Salado, B. R. (2020). Collage Was Never Gone. https://ojs.lib.unideb.hu/hjeas/article/download/8699/7903
- Stella, E. M., Bracci, S., Iannaccone, R., La Nasa, J., & Colombini, M. P. (2019). Violon. Céret by Pablo Picasso: The case of a lost painting. A methodological approach. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 35, 199–208.