Pablo Picssso full name — Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Mártir Patricio Ruiz y Picasso, (1881–1973) — He is a controversial artist in many ways, who, like most geniuses, evokes, like most geniuses, a variety of feelings. Officially, he is considered an outstanding innovator who was able to change modern art, and his paintings cost millions of dollars. Yes, and he wrote them a lot, which affected the popularity of the artist in the world, and especially on his financial condition. He had affairs with the most beautiful and famous women and more than anything else in the world loved life in all its manifestations. Picasso can by no means be called righteous, he loved to watch bullfighting - the national passion of the Spanish, although he lived most of his life in France, where he joined the almost daily use of wine. However, he could not be called an alcoholic like Francis Bacon or Maurice Utrillo - there was too much joy and pleasure in life, it was too interesting, why should it be ruined at the bottom of a glass?
Absinthe Lover
Picasso diligently passed through himself everything that can serve as a source of inspiration and help to write paintings: the works of predecessors, including the great masters of the past, books, sculptures, notes on historical events and all the cultural achievements of mankind. And he absorbed them relentlessly and with passion, perhaps because his work is so changeable and at the same time it has a lot of borrowings, but at the same time talented reworked by the artist himself.
However, all these changes of styles, different periods of creativity - from blue, pink, African, cubism to neoclassicism and surrealism, the very way of life of the artist, fabulous prices for his artwork, which many simply did not perceive: “my five-year-old daughter draws better”, caused irritation and dissatisfaction. He was considered a provocateur and manipulator who simply remakes other people's paintings.
Woman in a Hat
For example, the painting Woman in a Hat, dating from 1936, is simply a reworking of primitive African motifs, while an early artwork, Portrait of Olga Khokhlova, copies the style of French artist Jean Auguste Dominique Engrah almost verbatim.
Portrait of Olga Khokhlova
And such an abrupt change of styles irritated some people: “it is necessary to write consistently, so that it was clear that the artist's paintings of themselves, then it is easier to choose for potential customers, and visiting a solo exhibition should not expect something out of the ordinary”.
And also guardians of morality, or rather lovers of gossip about the quirks of the powerful, irritated Picasso's attitude to women. Once he bought a monkey, but here's the problem - the apartment seemed crowded, and the artist simply pointed another mistress to the exit.
Avignon maidens
Yes, and absolutely did not care about his own children - they frankly needed, but Picasso, who earned fabulous money on his paintings, spent it on a luxurious life and the purchase of real estate.
In principle, it was so, there is some truth in these claims, but only a fraction, if you understand better, it turns out that Picasso is not the worst person, and certainly a wonderful artist. For every such argument it is easy to find a counterargument.
The Comedian Family (Pink Period)
Most artists created, based on something already created before them, some creative developments, which finalized and reworked on their own way. Impressionists took as a basis the work of Watteau, Watteau took as an example to imitate the paintings of Rubens, Rubens was inspired by Titian, Titian studied the work of Raphael and took some of his work, Raphael was impressed by the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci and sculptures of Michelangelo. Any genius who left behind outstanding works of art launches a baton of imitations and reworkings, roughly as all compassionate literature came out of Gogol's overcoat.
And all this abrupt change of styles is a clear sign of talent and creative search. Picasso did not flounder without finding his genre and artistic direction, in which he could succeed, on the contrary, his constant search led to the emergence of extraordinary paintings, which were highly appreciated - not by chance for a canvas in the style of cubism “Nude, green leaves and bust” paid 155 million dollars.
Nude, green leaves and a bust
Of course, a lot depends on the artist's popularity and the customer's willingness to invest such money, but no one will pay so much for a mediocre handicraft, of which there were many at all times.
And not always money was for Picasso the main thing - when he was required to paintings in the style of cubism, he began to write quite traditional paintings in the artistic direction of neoclassicism, as if in the yard of the XIX century. As if spoiled with strange shapes and distortion of proportions, he decided to return to the usual figurativeness and timeless classics.
Girl in a mantilla (Girl in Spanish costume. La Salchichona).
And a good man is not always synonymous with a talented artist, often the other way around. For example, Edgar Degas was a clear misanthrope and was a stranger to physical intimacy with women, Caravaggio was a troublemaker and a brawler, Gustav Klimt was an incorrigible womanizer, but is it all that important if they left behind a magnificent creative legacy? And Picasso's mistresses chose their own fate, if they are not complete fools, they should have imagined what he is, and realize that Picasso's most important thing is creativity and his own ego, not temporary lovers, whom he changed like gloves. And the monkey is just an excuse to break up with the next annoying passport, even if it is so humiliating and original.
Jacqueline with flowers
Although Picasso was frankly lucky - he was born in the XX century and he had every chance to achieve success in his lifetime, leaving huge opportunities for creative search and creation of something completely out of the ordinary. If earlier artists, for example, the same first impressionists, were in the “Procrustean bed” of conventions and restrictions, their paintings were not perceived by the conservative public and the desire to write in a new way automatically implied the need to work “on the table”, then in the XX century you can and should write in the style of the avant-garde, moreover, only in this way and could be truly famous. Picasso became famous and began to reap the benefits of his success, although for this you need to be a truly extraordinary personality. How many of them were, are and will be artists and such considered themselves, but we know and admire the paintings of only true masters, one of whom was Pablo Picasso, so that critics and detractors did not say about him.
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