Art: Pablo Picasso

Question 1

What was Picasso’s lifespan?

Answer 1

1881-1973; he was born in Málaga, Spain

Question 2

Did Picasso have artistic inclinations as a child?

Answer 2

Yes; his dad was his earliest teacher; his dad was an art professor, so it worked out well. His dad taught in a very traditional style.

Question 3

What types of art did Picasso produce?

Answer 3

Most notably paintings, but also sculptures, prints/drawings, and theatrical designs.

Question 4

How old was Picasso when he enrolled in art academy, and which academy was it? What reaction did he have to it?

Answer 4

16; the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. He started to react against the academy’s emphasis on naturalistic representation of space and idealized human forms.

Question 5

What styles and people influenced Picasso to create his own artistic style?

Answer 5

Symbolism and Art Nouveau, and the expressive works of El Greco and Francisco Goya

Question 6

When was Picasso’s ‘Blue Period’, and what was it named for?

Answer 6

1901-1904; his predominate use of blues

Question 7

When was Picasso’s first trip to Paris?

Answer 7

1900

Question 8

What did the paintings of Picasso’s ‘Blue Period’ focus on?

Answer 8

the human figure, in particular individuals living on the margins of society, such as ‘The Old Guitarist’

Question 9

When was Picasso’s Rose Period, and what did he focus on?

Answer 9

1904-1906; acrobats and harlequins

Question 10

Who did Picasso have a relationship with during his Rose Period?

Answer 10

Fernande Olivier, an artist’s model. The two traveled to Catalonia in 1906.

Question 11

What kind of foreign sculpture was Picasso interested in, and why did most viewers reject it?

Answer 11

Iberian; it was primitive compared to Greek/Roman art. He was also fascinated with art from the Pacific Islands and Africa.

Question 12

What piece of Picasso’s was a foundational piece in the creation of Cubism?

Answer 12

Les Demoiselles D’Avignon

Question 13

Who did Picasso work closely with to develop Cubism, and why did they stop collaborating?

Answer 13

Picasso and Georges Braque met in 1908 and worked together to create Cubism. When Braque enlisted in the French military in 1914, they were obviously separated.

Question 14

What was Cubism?

Answer 14

A form of abstract painting/sculpture that was stripped of its narrative content

Question 15

Who did Picasso marry, and how were the two associated with the Ballets Russes?

Answer 15

He married Olga Koklova, who was a dancer for the Ballets Russes, and Picasso started to create set designs for Diaghilev.

Question 16

What style did Picasso move towards after the war?

Answer 16

classicizing; he often depicted women in classical poses

Question 17

Did Picasso often express his political beliefs through art?

Answer 17

No; the exception was Guernica (1937), which showed the bombing of civilians during the Spanish Civil War

Question 18

What kind of sculptures did Picasso create?

Answer 18

Reductive works in wood and stone such as the Chicago Picasso.

Question 19

What were Picasso’s romantic relationships like?

Answer 19

Numerous; two marriages, many affairs, many of which were with his models. Destructive, misogynistic; the original stereotype of the bohemian male artist. When he died he was married to Jacqueline Roque.