Art-o-Gram: Picasso – Famous Art and its Secret – Theses 1-4

The artist “in himself” – many people immediately think of Picasso when such a phrase is uttered. Those interested in art don't simply accept this mental image and this status, but rather ask themselves why Picasso was assigned this role.

One could spend an entire art degree trying to find the answer, but even a few theories can give curious people a clue as to why Picasso's art is so famous and what secret lies behind it:

These 1: An exceptional start, quantities of famous works of art

Good almost from “little on”.

There are few artists whose works have set as many records as the paintings by Picasso. If you're thinking, "No wonder, a lifespan of 91 years gives an artist plenty of time to develop into an exceptionally good painter," that wasn't the case with Picasso; he didn't need a very long development period to paint exceptionally good pictures.

On the contrary, Picasso a unique kind of record through the rapid early start of his artistic career : In 1895, at just 14 years old, he passed the entrance examination at the Barcelona Academy of Fine Arts .

At an age when the average teenager definitively decides that the opposite sex is more interesting than any artistic pursuit, with an ease that left (much older) competitors speechless, he became an art student "shortly after elementary school.".

A highly successful student who skipped the first two grades, Picasso's visual language quickly attracted the first signs of outstanding mastery from Spanish art critics. His works were compared to those of the Spanish Old Masters, evoking the mastery of Francisco de Zurbarán and the early Diego Velázquez ; this comparison with the legendary artists of the Spanish Empire was certainly an unusual compliment.

Picasso, who had been signing his paintings (with P. Ruiz) since the age of 13, had his own studio in Barcelona from 1896 onwards. He exhibited his work and caused a sensation in the press with his portrait of Philip IV (after Velázquez, 1897). His first major composition ( “Ciencia y Caridad” , “Science and Charity” from 1897), a variation on the then-popular history painting, won prizes at art exhibitions in Madrid and Málaga.

Picasso first made a name for himself in the art world around 1896, when he was just 15 years old.

Picasso needed very little time to develop into an exceptionally good painter in the eyes of the critics. If he achieved this fame through a style of artistic creation that he would soon consciously abandon, this is simply typical of Picasso – and, besides his fundamental talent, also a clue to the secret of his success.

Famous art and sought-after artworks by Picasso

The next clues to the secret behind Picasso's extraordinary success are, of course, provided by his paintings, especially the most famous ones. There are many famous paintings by Picasso:

• “El pequeño picador” from 1890 is famous because it is Picasso’s first painting and this first painting already shows his talent.
• The “Young Girl with a Basket of Flowers” ​​from 1905 is famous because it was the first painting that Leo Stein bought from him (more details about the impact will follow later).
• The “Boy with a Pipe” from 1905 is famous because it marks the transition from the Blue Period to the Rose Period and is thus a sign of Picasso’s capacity for development.
• The “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” from 1907 are famous because this painting is one of the key paintings of Classical Modernism, which was to have far-reaching significance for the subsequent development of painting.
• “Guernica” from 1937 is famous because the work captures the horrors of war and the artist’s shock at the events of war in a highly compelling way.

We could go on like this for “a few more pages”; among Picasso’s approximately 50,000 works, there are many that have something very special about them for one reason or another.

Since this would then become a book and not an article, we will only briefly mention the dove of peace – the most famous form of this globally recognized symbol was also created by Picasso.

The images just listed will be discussed in more detail in the following theses on Picasso's fame and the mystery behind it.

But there is more to discover Picasso “Art-o-Gramm: Picasso – born to be an artist” .

The many wars that fundamentally overshadowed his life are discussed in relation to his art in “Art-o-Gram: Picasso – An Artist and Three Wars ,” while the article “Art-o-Gram: Picasso Today” attempts to capture an impression of Picasso's significance for today's art world. The articles “Art-o-Gram: Picasso – A Guarantee for Top Rankings” and “Art-o-Gram: Picasso – The Artist, Life, and Love” the “Picasso Myth” from very specific perspectives.

If you find yourself once again plagued by self-doubt in your own creative work , here is an encouraging quote from Picasso, whose statement he proved achievable with his life's work:

“I wanted to prove that it is possible to succeed despite everyone and everything, without making compromises.”

Art-o-Gram: Picasso – Famous Art and its Secret – Thesis 2

The artist “in himself” – many people immediately think of Picasso when such a phrase is uttered. Those interested in art don't simply accept this mental image and this status, but rather ask themselves why Picasso was assigned this role.

One could spend an entire art degree trying to find the answer, but even a few theories can give curious people a clue as to why Picasso's art is so famous and what secret lies behind it:

These 2: Even the first picture reveals a special talent

The little Picador shows some talent.

In Thesis 1, at the beginning of this article, several artworks by Picasso that have become exceptionally famous were listed. If we examine these artworks more closely, they give us clear indications of Picasso's talent and his sustained work on that talent:

“El pequeño picador” was painted by Picasso when he was just 8 or 9 years old.

Admittedly, this "little bullfighter" is sitting on a horse that any compassionate person would immediately want to send a truckload of carrots to, it looks so starved. But still: the people in the background create atmosphere, and there is a background; the little Picasso seems to have effortlessly managed to give the picture depth and perspective.

The picture “lives”, it says something, the faces and the suggestion of a crowd are accurate… Compare it to a picture of your neighbor’s nine-year-old child (not your own child, the disappointment might be painful).

A brief digression into the realms of depth and perspective

If you enjoy painting in your free time and occasionally struggle with depth and perspective (as does almost every painter, even a very advanced one), you might want to take a look at the following:

A few episodes of the television painting course "The Joy of Painting ," produced by the painter Bob Ross from 1983 to 1994. We don't know which episodes ARD-alpha has already aired, but you probably don't need to rush; the television painting course consists of 403 half-hour episodes.

Please do not switch off immediately if you tune in very late and see an almost finished picture (which frightens you and makes you wonder if the author of this article ... complete it according to your own imagination) on the TV screen.

Or rather: Switch it off, and next time switch on earlier, because incredibly, you can actually take something away from this program.

First, you'll get a little closer to a secret unrelated to Picasso: If you've ever wondered what makes people hang pictures of roaring stags in mountain clearings above their living room couches, you'll now see that this kind of art can bring fame and widespread popularity. You'll even see the creation of a "Roaring Stag in a Clearing Before a Mountain"—without the stag, as Bob Ross's paintings never feature living creatures, but instead, you'll see it LIVE, in half an hour!

This painting is – the author doesn't want to reveal her exact opinion here (and doesn't consider it relevant). But one can probably say: pure kitsch, an idyllic world; the images that emerge before your eyes therefore initially give you, with every brushstroke, a better impression of what Picasso must have been able to do in order not to paint like this…

But they also give you a fascinating, step-by-step impression of how perspective and depth are created. And somehow these paintings are actually really good; Bob Ross confidently places mountains and trees, water surfaces and light reflections on the canvas. Anyone who scoffs at Bob Ross's painting should try to emulate that – only the motifs, or rather the repetitive themes, can really get on your nerves…

Last but not least: If you're feeling agitated, anxious, or otherwise stressed, the weekday night broadcasts are the perfect way to prepare for a good, restful sleep – the creation of these paintings is said to have a profoundly meditative effect on many people… You can learn more about Bob Ross and his painting school in the article “Bob Ross and The Joy of Painting and why (not) everyone is an artist”.

Picasso's work is already diverse at the beginning

Now back to Picasso, on monografias.com you can see some works from his early period , mostly created at the beginning of his second decade of life – even then Picasso presented a very diverse series of impressive works.

His early work reveals an almost immodest boundlessness; people are depicted in diverse interactions with each other and in the most varied environments; virtually every motif that presents itself in Picasso's immediate surroundings seems to have been taken up; alongside the developing understanding of what a motif actually is, one can almost tangibly feel the joy of capturing the world with the means of a painter.

That these means were soon insufficient for Picasso will be shown later, as will the fact that this first work alone was certainly not responsible for his international career . The next clue to Picasso's success and the underlying reasons and motivations will be revealed in the third part of this article, which deals with launching his career through the right connections and trusting his own judgment.

Here's another thought for all (aspiring) artists regarding depth and perspective: However difficult it may be to bring depth and perspective into a picture – the most important thing is to start at all, because:

In art, practice always comes before theory

(Quote by Picasso)

Art-o-Gram: Picasso – Famous Art and its Secret – Thesis 3

The artist “in himself” – many people immediately think of Picasso when such a phrase is uttered. Art enthusiasts don't simply accept this mental image and this status, but rather ask themselves why Picasso was assigned this role. One could spend an entire art degree trying to find the answer, but even a few theories can offer curious minds a glimpse into why Picasso's art is so famous and what secret lies behind it:

These 3: The right environment helps when starting a career, as does trust in one's own judgment

A young girl with a flower basket provides Picasso with the right contacts

The first section of this article mentioned several of Picasso's artworks that have achieved outstanding fame for various reasons. Now, we will briefly introduce each painting in terms of its significance to Picasso's career, and the next painting from the list just mentioned is "Young Girl with a Basket of Flowers ," which is actually a "nude young girl with a basket of flowers."

This image was not chosen for this presentation because it is intended to highlight the healthy joy of painting that the 24-year-old Picasso presumably felt when creating this artwork – the picture is not famous for that reason, but (because it is quite good, of course), but actually because this “girl” launched Picasso’s world career.

The nude beauty was acquired in 1905 by Leo Stein , the brother of the legendary American poet and art collector Gertrude Stein . She had just opened a salon in Paris where the literary and artistic avant-garde gathered; the names of her regular visitors are simply delightful to savor: Georges Braque, Paul Cézanne, Honoré Daumier, Paul Gauguin, Henry Matisse , Pierre Monet, Auguste Renoir, Guillaume Apollinaire, Jean Cocteau, John Dos Passos, T.S. Eliot, Alfred Jarry, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Man Ray , Tristan Tzara, Thornton Wilder, and many, many more.

Gertrude Stein was a true member of the new revolutionary generation, young enough to understand artists and mature (and wealthy) enough to support them and buy their paintings. She purchased many works by then-unrecognized geniuses, and even though she reportedly didn't like "Young Girl with a Basket of Flowers," after her brother's purchase, Picasso became a regular visitor to Gertrude Stein's salon.

Picasso forged lifelong friendships and acquaintances, painted Gertrude Stein's portrait, and sold her paintings. These 800 francs provided an initial livelihood for the then financially struggling Picasso. His acquaintance with the gallery owner Ambroise Vollard, , brought him further sales and another 2,000 francs. This provided the means for his future life and work – and, together with these developing relationships, the catalyst for Picasso's triumphant journey around the world.

Picasso's life's work – determined by his own judgment

This global career would not have been long in coming anyway; Picasso was simply exceptionally talented, and his entire life's work demonstrates his outstanding ability.

From the very beginning, it was evident that Picasso possessed a creative intelligence that enabled him to develop his skills in painting, sometimes even achieving groundbreaking innovations. This same creative intelligence also led to an often quite unusual approach to any subject that interested him. He learned differently than others, and this is how he was able to develop new things.

It would turn out that Picasso was not only gifted and capable of development in one direction – he produced extraordinarily good paintings as well as drawings , he presented unusually good graphics , he produced admirable sculptures and ceramics , he could write poetry and writing well, and in the course of all these activities, he also invented a few completely new art forms.

What is also outstanding about Picasso's life's work is that he felt from the beginning that he could correctly judge his own actions; that he knew which teacher or which entrenched doctrine would do him more harm than good.

The fact that Picasso's father (a painter and art and drawing teacher) recognized his talent early on and taught and encouraged his son certainly proves that Picasso began his conquest of the art world under good conditions.

However, if it is also reported that Picasso's father turned away entirely from painting in 1895 and limited himself solely to the academic teaching of art, this already suggests a good sense for the abundance of talent in his exceptionally gifted son and for familial as well as artistic discussions between the son and his first teacher.

With these new contacts, his international career has now begun to take off; however, the following sections of this article will show that this in no way deterred Picasso from resolutely developing his own style and that he was quite prepared to take risks in the process.

Beyond his success and the possible explanations for it, Picasso's fascinating life has many other facets, which will be explored in further articles. The article "Art-o-Gram: 'Picasso – a guarantee for top rankings'" deals with the numerous records associated with Picasso and his artistic work, while "Art-o-Gram: Picasso – The artist, his life, and his love" addresses entirely different records.

The article “Art-o-Gram: Picasso – A Long Life for Art” deals with Picasso’s long and interesting life, the article “Art-o-Gram: Picasso – Born an Artist ” with his artistic training, the article “Art-o-Gram: Picasso – An Artist and Three Wars” explains why Picasso was particularly affected by wars around him, and the article “Art-o-Gram: Picasso Today” aims to show where you can see and feel Picasso in our world today.

Finally, here's a Picasso quote for aspiring artists, intended to encourage an unlimited choice of subject matter. In 1968, the master observed:

I didn't say everything, but I painted everything

Art-o-Gram: Picasso – Famous Art and its Secret – Thesis 4

The artist “in himself” – many people immediately think of Picasso when such a phrase is uttered. Those interested in art don't simply accept this mental image and this status, but rather ask themselves why Picasso was assigned this role.

One could spend an entire art degree trying to find the answer, but even a few theories can give curious people a clue as to why Picasso's art is so famous and what secret lies behind it:

These 4: Constant upheavals; this is precisely what later leads to records

The Boy with a Pipe – Upheaval, born of burgeoning optimism

It has just been shown that Picasso probably often expressed his own opinion about painting to his first teacher, his own father, that even as a very young artist he was not thrown off course if someone couldn't make much sense of one of his depictions, and that Picasso's self-confident attitude would ultimately prove to be justified in a very important case.

His own opinion should continue to guide his development; Picasso remained in search of his own style and was not afraid to constantly reinvent himself. With almost always sound judgment, he chose his teachers and beneficial contacts himself, and he did not limit himself to his familiar, comfortable home (in this case, his studio), but began early on to explore the "world of modern art" through travels around the globe .

On all these excursions into the world, he eagerly absorbed all the influences that a new environment offered him, and sometimes this resulted in an almost imperceptible development , which Picasso embraced just as readily as stylistic or atmospheric changes in his pictorial representation , which actually had their basis in a changed attitude of Picasso's towards life.

The “Garçon à la pipe” (“Boy with a Pipe”) from 1905 represents this constant evolution – it is famous because it marks transition from the Blue Period to the Rose Period

After a rather bleak “Blue Period” , joy and hope returned to Picasso’s life, as the painting of the relaxed, thoughtful boy in a (still blue) suit, garnished with a pink floral tapestry, cautiously suggests – or rather strongly suggests – with the flower crown woven from pink roses on the boy’s head.

But “Garçon à la pipe” shows a much more decisive visual language in contrast to “Young Girl with Flower Basket”; there everything is soft, flowing, suggested, here everything is clearly accentuated, sharply defined, strongly colored.

The boy with the pipe, by the way, is a young craftsman who liked to watch Picasso at work; so at that time there were craftsmen in Paris who liked to look at the most fashionable art of the time and also had the time to do so (and there were young artists who let craftsmen watch them).

Confirmation of one's own opinion follows, as is so often the case,

That insisting on one's own opinion paid off in Picasso's case is the norm and thus one of the secrets to his success. "Boy with a Pipe" is a good example of this; it later achieved Picasso's first financial records for a time, "Boy with a Pipe" was the most expensive painting in the world.

In May 2004, it was auctioned at Sotheby’s New York for the record sum of 104.2 million US dollars (then around 85 million euros), thus replacing Vincent van Gogh’s “Portrait of Doctor Gachet” as record holder.

Meanwhile, the “Boy with a Pipe” has been surpassed by several other works of art, including “himself”:

• November 2013 “Silver Car Crash” (or: Double Disaster, 1963) by Andy Warhol for $105.4 million
• May 2010 “Nude with Green Leaves and Bust” (or: “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust”, 1932) by Picasso, $106.5 million
• May 2012 “The Scream” , 1895 by Edvard Munch , $119.9 million
• June 2006 “Adele Bloch-Bauer I” , 1907 by Gustav Klimt , $135 million
• November 2006 “Woman III” , 1953 by Willem de Kooning, $137.5 million
• November 2006 “No. 5, 1948” by Jackson Pollock , $140 million

The current record holder since November 2013 is “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” (triptych, 1969), by Francis Bacon , $142.4 million.

However, for an insistence on one's own opinion to be appreciated by the environment, knowledge and skill are required, and the fact that Picasso was keen to acquire both to the highest degree throughout his life will be shown in the next section of this article.

Because it's not only fun to trace the secrets of Picasso's fame, but also to see these records listed and quantified, that's exactly what the article "Art-o-Gram: 'Picasso – A Guarantee for Top Rankings'" . Picasso also has a few "records in love" to his name; whether these are to be seen as positive or negative is considered in the article "Art-o-Gram: Picasso – The Artist, Life, and Love" .

Picasso's life is presented in the article “Art-o-Gramm: Picasso – A Long Life for Art”, his educational path in the article “Art-o-Gramm: Picasso – Born an Artist”, the significance of war for his life and work in the article “Art-o-Gramm: Picasso – An Artist and Three Wars” , and Picasso's significance in today's world is explored in the article “Art-o-Gramm: Picasso Today”.

If you're in a bad mood right now because it's not yet certain whether your own paintings will reach such financial heights (or this is rather unlikely because you haven't started painting yet and don't actually intend to), here's an encouraging quote from Picasso: “Starting with van Gogh, we are all, however great we may be, to a certain extent self-taught – one might almost say, naive painters .”

Painters no longer live within a tradition, and so each of us must reinvent all our means of expression. Every modern painter has the perfect right to invent this language from A to Z.”

Incidentally, this pretty much sums up what Kunstplaza wants to achieve – to encourage everyone to perceive art around them and to create art themselves if they can imagine enjoying it, without being limited to a specific definition of art.