Artists Illustrating Boys' Fashions: Pablo Picasso (Spain, 1881-1973)



Figure 1.--This is a Pablo Picasso about 1887. He would have been about 6 years old. He is already breeched. I'm not sure how common that was in Spain at the time. The other child is his little sister.

Pablo Picasso is one of the towering figures of the 20th century. Pablo Picasso was born in 1881. His father was an art teacher at recognized at an early age that his son was very talented. He devoted considerable effort in developing that talent. There is a small museum in Barcelona, the Museo de Picasso, that focuses on the artists early works. Picasso went through many stages and as a resulted painted in many diffeent styles. He is best known for cubism but many of his early works are stkingly realistic. From an early age he exibited a rebelious spirit. He spent much time in in th Barcelona cafes as a teenagers debating the issues of the day with friends. He went to Paris and was influenced by the impressionists and other Frenchh art movements. He was especially struck by Toulouse-Lautrec's sketchy appoach. He spent his early years moving back and forth between Frnce and Spain. We include him here because of his enormous impact on Western art. He did many portraits, but relatively few provide detailed information on clothing.

Parents

Pablo's father was an art teacher at recognized at an early age that his son was very talented. He devoted considerable effort in developing that talent.

Childhood

Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga on the southern coast of Spain (1881). When his sister has born 3 years later, a violent earthquake occured. He remembered that earthquake all his life. Here in the poertrait about 6 years old. The portrait was made about 1887.

Childhood Clothing

The image here shows Pablo's younger brother wearing a dress with a wide circular white collar. Presumably Pablo at that age was dressed similarly. He might of even worn the same dress. Pablo wears what looks like a white kneepants suit with dark long stockings. Notice the cap on which he is resting his right hand. I am not sure if it is a beret or sailor cap. There appears to be a stripped band.hat.

Education

Picasso had an early introduction to art. His father was a painter and art instructor. Picasso studied at various art schools (1892-96). They included academies in Barcelona and Madrid. He then went on to the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid during (1896-97). After this he became bored with academic study and decided to begin life as an independent artist.

Early Life

From an early age he exibited a rebelious spirit. He spent much time in the Barcelona cafes as a teenagers debating the issues of the day with friends. He went to Paris and was influenced by te impressionists and other Frenchh art movements. He was especially struck by Toulouse-Lautrec's sketchy appoach. He spent his early years moving back and forth between France and Spain.

Acclaimed Artist

Picasso by the late 1910s was the most accalimed artist in the world. He was no longer a starving artist, but now a wealthy man. He was also stunningly active with an amazing number of women. [Richardson and McCully, vol. III] The full of account of his affairs and how poorly he treated his women would outpace modern gossip magazines. This type of behavior of course is not that unusual in the artistic community, but Picasso even stood out in the artistic community. The dancer Olga Khoklova who he married finally provided some stability in his life.



Figure 2.--This is a Picasso painting, but I do not have any other details. I'm not sure who the child is.

Art

Pablo Picasso is one of the towering figures of the 20th century. There is a small museum in Barcelona, the Museo de Picasso, that focuses on the artists early works. Picasso went through many stages and as a resulted painted in many diffeent styles. He is best known for cubism but many of his early works are stkingly realistic. The most noted periods are realism, caricature, the Blue Period (1901-04), and the Rose Period (1904- ). The Rose Period includes his paintings of circus people with harlequins, and clowns. Picasso traveled to Holland (1905). [Komen] About this time the Steins begin to promote the work of Picasso and Matisse. Matisse had beun painting in a shoking new style, garish colors and wildly formed figures. Picasso's respose was to engender a life-long competition between the two. Other influences on Picasso at this time were stangely unrelated such as Rosseau, ancient Iberian sculptures, and Gauguin. Increasingly Picasso was moved to distilling images. One of his first works in this phase was a portrait of Gertrude Stein who complained a bit about the likeness. Cubism began to emerge with "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" (1907), although he did show it for some time. Cubism is an effort to fragment three-dimensional forms onto the flat surface of a canvass. In essence by manipulating areas of pattern and color through overlapping and intertwining them, the Cubist allows the human form to be viewed from front and back simultaneously. Cubism dominate art for several decades of the 20th century.

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War erupted in 1936. It is generally seen as the dress rehersal for World War II. The Republican Government appointed Picaso as the director of the famed Prado art museum. The Republic in January 1937 asked him to produce a mural for the Spanish pavilion at the world exposition in Paris. Picasso produced one of the great works of the 20th century. The German NAZIs and Italians Fascists supported Franco by providing air elements that the Republic could not match. The air units were used to bomb largely unprotected cities. One of the most devestating attacks was a Luftwaffe terror attack on the unprotected Basque town of Guernica. It was the world's introduction to NAZI terror bombing. The work has been compared to Goya's horrific images of the Peninsular Campaign during the Napoleonic War. With the fall of the Republic, Picasso fled to Paris.

World War II

Picasso remained in Paris when the Germans invaded. He continued painting during the occupation nd lived quietly in Paris. Despite his involvemnt with the Spanish Republic and vehement criticism of the NAZIs, they did not arrest him. His paintings during this period are dark and forboding, peppered wih sculls and body parts.

Post-war Era

Picasso after the Liberation joined the Communist Party and became deeply critical of the United States. He was critical of American involvement in the Korean war and his hackneyed paintings at this time made outlandish charges including germ warfare. Thse were some of tge few works in which his geniius and originality did not shine through., [HBC note: The Chinese made such charges, but they were faslse. The Japanese during World war II had used germ warfare on he Chinese.]

Final Years

Picasso in his final years dabbled in many different forms, including sculpture, pottery, and print-making. During this time he had many mistresses and girlfriends and would develop new styles to express his feelings for them. His last paintings were works in honor of som of the the great masters.

Children's Clothing

We include him here because of his enormous impact on Western art. He did many portraits, but relatively few of children. And those he did do of children do nort provide detailed information on clothing. Even so it is fascinating to see how this great artist painted children. His portraits of children seem less abstrct than some of his other work. Unfortunately we do not yet have much information on these portraits. We have few details on the identity of the children. children a

Donkey ride

Donkey rides on the beach were a popular activity for children in the late 19th and early 20th century. We are not sure, however, who the child is here or when it was painted (figure 1). The painting seems remarably realistic. It must have been a cold day as the child is bundled up in a white long pants outfit.

Paul drawing

This painting was identified as Paul drawing. We are not sure who Paul is, perhaps a son. It was doine in 1923. The boy wears a sweater or long-sleeve shirt with short pants and decidely red shoes. Note the pull toy on the desk. Here the image is less realistic and we see some of the sharp geometric shapes that he is known for. Still the boy is very recognizable.

Sources

Komen, Kees. Picasso in Holland.

Richardson, John and Marilyn McCully. A Life of Picasso, 1881-1906 Vol. I (Random House).

Richardson, John and Marilyn McCully. A Life of Picasso:The Triumphant Years, 1917-1932 Vol. III (Random House). The authors detail Picaso's many affairs, but make no moral judgement. They seem to take the position that his genius placed Picasso above the rules that govern the lives of mere mortals.








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Created: July 21, 2003
Last updated: 6:17 PM 10/27/2007