The legendary life of the great artist Picasso: interesting facts for art lovers
Pablo Picasso, this name is like a flash of lightning in the art world. His works have absolutely influenced the development of modern art. His paintings overturned the rules of vision and left a deep mark in history with his unparalleled creativity. However, apart from the halo of an art master, Picasso's life hides many hilarious and amazing anecdotes. From his naughty graffiti in childhood, to his poverty-stricken adventures in Paris, to his secluded creation in his later years, every step of this genius is full of drama.
Text by Ewen Cheuk
The little naughty boy who graffitied on the wall in childhood
In 1881, Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain, a sunny but slightly impoverished town. Since he was a child, his mother found that Picasso had an unusual fascination with colors and shapes. Once, she was surprised to see little Picasso scribbling on the wall with his fingers. The lines were crooked but vaguely formed, like an unfinished painting. Instead of scolding him, his mother began to encourage him to pick up the paintbrush. Who would have thought that this wall would become the first canvas of the talented artist.
Picasso was an out-and-out troublemaker in school, and was often punished by his teacher for being naughty. But for him, this was not a punishment at all, but an opportunity to create. He would secretly draw on the corners of his textbooks, and even drew his teacher as an exaggerated cartoon character: bald, with a big nose, so exaggerated that his classmates laughed so hard that they couldn't breathe. These early "pranks" inadvertently honed his observation and sense of lines, and also laid the groundwork for his future artistic path.
Paris Years: A Cup of Coffee for a Painting
When Picasso was 19 years old, he came to Paris with great enthusiasm. He met a group of poor but talented artists in a café in Montmartre. At that time, he was often so poor that he couldn't even afford a cup of coffee. Once, he drew a sketch in a café. The owner was so amazed that he offered to exchange the sketch for a cup of coffee. Picasso readily agreed.
The days in Paris also brought him into the "Blue Period", when his works were full of melancholy blues, reflecting his inner loneliness. But even so, his sense of humor never left him. It is said that at a gathering of friends, he suddenly had an idea to paint his whole body with blue paint, imitating his own paintings and standing in the middle of the room, like a moving sculpture. His friends were stunned at first, and then burst into laughter. At this moment, Picasso proved with his actions: even at the bottom, he could paint life into a comedy.
Cubism Rise! Revolution and Midnight Fever
In 1907, Picasso and Georges Braque jointly founded Cubism, an art revolution that completely changed the rules of painting. They abandoned traditional perspective and reinterpreted the world with multi-angle fragmented perspectives. The most famous work, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, is the pinnacle of this period. When painting this picture, Picasso invited friends to visit his studio. As a result, his friends were stunned by this painting full of strange women and broken lines. Some even blurted out: "What the hell is this?" Picasso calmly lit a cigarette and said with a smile: "You don't understand now, but you will understand one day."
Facts have proved that Les Demoiselles d'Avignon later became a milestone in modern art. But the creative process was not easy. Picasso revised it repeatedly, even jumping out of bed in the middle of the night and rushing into the studio in pajamas, and kept revising it until he was satisfied. This almost crazy obsession makes people sigh.
Romance and complaints in paintings
Picasso's love story is even more colourful than his paintings. During his two marriages, he had countless romances, each of which was like a painting, passionate and complex. During his marriage to his first wife Olga Khokhlova, he was often obsessed with his creations and left the housework aside. Olga couldn't help complaining that he only knew how to paint all day and never accompanied her.
The most interesting thing is his love affair with Marie Therese Walter. Marie was his muse, and inspired many of his masterpieces. On a date, he gave Marie one of his paintings as a gift. Although Marie was moved to tears, she couldn't help asking why she didn't give him real flowers? Picasso realized that he should go to the flower shop on the corner and buy a bunch of roses. This also made him a great lover in the eyes of many people.
The reclusive life of the pigeon and the rose in their later years
In his later years, Picasso moved to a castle in southern France and lived a semi-secluded life. But his creativity was not diminished at all, and he still painted until late at night every day. In addition to painting, he also raised a bunch of pets: dogs, cats, pigeons, and even a goat. In an interview, the reporter asked him which pet he loved most, and he said without hesitation: "Pigeons. They fly around, as free as my inspiration." After that, he pointed to a pigeon pecking at food outside the window and smiled like a child.
He also became fascinated with gardening, and planted flowers in the castle garden, watering and pruning them every day. Once, he accidentally pricked his finger with a rose, and blood flowed. But he didn't care at all, and smiled and said, "This is the price of art. I am willing to bleed for beauty." This sentence is both his obsession with art and his love for life.
Picasso died in 1973 at the age of 91. In addition to the tens of thousands of works he left behind, there are countless interesting stories to reminisce about. From a naughty boy who doodled in his childhood, to a poor painter in a Parisian cafe, to a hermit who lived with pigeons in his later years, every step he took was full of drama. He subverted the world with his brush, and also illuminated life with humor and enthusiasm. As he himself once said: "The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls."
