Spanish artist Pablo Ruiz Picasso is described by many as the greatest artist of the twentieth century. Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain on October 25th, 1881. Picasso’s father was an art instructor so Picasso was influenced by, and exposed to art, as a very young man. By the age of seven Picasso displayed an interest in drawing, and actually completed his first major painting of a man riding a donkey, by the age of nine. He painted First Communion (1895-96) by the age of fifteen.

In the early 1900's Picasso moved to Paris, France where there was a strong artist community. Picasso’s style of painting changed and evolved continuously throughout his long and prolific lifespan.

He painted monochromatically (using one color as a base color for the painting) during his Blue period (1901-1904). In the Blue period, Picasso’s painting were of the poor and struggling members of society. The paintings are sorrowful and melancholy, as in The Old Guitarist (1903). Using the color blue and poor members of society as subjects, Picasso created an overall sad feeling in these paintings. Some say the reason for this was due to the fact that Picasso was poor, hungry and lonely during this time in his life. These feelings intensified after the suicide of one of his close friends.

In his Rose period (1904-1905) one can see a distinct difference in the style of Picasso’s paintings. Around this time, Picasso met and fell in love with a woman by the name of Fernande Oliver. Picasso shifted the colors he used in his paintings from blues to pinks, creating the overall effect of a more upbeat, lighter mood. Many of the works of art from this period were of circus characters such as the painting The Tumblers (1905) and Family of Saltimbanques (1905).

A year later one observes a change in the style of paintings produced by Picasso. The works take on a flatter look. Picasso played with spatial depth in his own Self Portrait with Palette (1906) and Portrait of Gertrude Stein (1906). This style, which preceded cubism, is known as Beginning Cubism and began in 1906.

Picasso and Georges Braque shocked the art world with by developing a dramatic, radical painting style known as cubism. Influenced by artist Paul Cezanne, the fauvists, and African art, the innovation of cubism attempts to portray objects reduced to their most basic geometric form. Cubism allowed the artist to render his interpretation of a subject in a freer more expressive manner rather than as a realistic object. This art form derived its name because it appeared that the subject was painted as if it were broken into tiny cubes.

From 1907-1912 Picasso created paintings in the cubistic style. These works can be categorized into two distinct groups: Proto-Cubism and Analytic Cubism. The palate was muted, using mostly brown, black, gray, and tan to create a monochromatic feel. As Picasso moved towards Analytical Cubism the images he painted became more abstract and fragmented. At times, it is difficult to see what the subject of the painting was although the viewer can recognize some objects.

From 1912-1918 Picasso painted in a style known as Synthetic Cubism in which the forms were larger and more representational. Flat, bright, decorative patterns embellished areas of the paintings. Still the subject was rendered in its most simple geometric shape, showing various angles and planes simultaneously in an attempt to describe how forms exist in space. In some cases cardboard, newspaper and other decorative papers were applied to the surface of the painting. An example of this style can be seen in the painting, The Italian Girl (1917).

Picasso continued to create art throughout his lifetime but never conformed to a specific art style in his later years. Instead he painted in many styles and explored a variety of mediums including, sculpture, mosaic, set and costume design, ceramics, and printmaking.

These paintings can be grouped in the following order: Work Between Wars (1919-1938), The Legendary Period (1939-1955), and Late Works(1956-1973).

Picasso died in France, on April 8th, 1973 at the age of 92. He created over 22,000 works of art over the course of his lifetime.