Picasso-Biography

"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place, from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web" - Picasso

Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born on October 25, 1881 in Malaga, Spain. His parents were Maria Picasso Lopez and Jose Ruiz Blasco.

His father was a painter, art teacherand the local museum's curator. The family had two other children, Lola Dobresin 1884 and Concepcion in 1887. In 1891 the family moved to the provincial capital of La Coruna. Picasso joined the school of fine arts a year later. His father also taught him, and recognized his son's immense talent even such ayoung age.

In the late 1890s, Picasso's work gained outside recognition. His paintings were awarded gold medals in local competitions. His family supported Picasso and encouraged him to continue his studies. However by now the young artist preferred museums to art class. He spent hours in local galleries studying and imitating the masters.

In 1990, Picasso went to Paris with his friend Casagemas. He found great success there and arranged his first contract. In February of 1901, Casagemas committed suicide over a woman. Picasso was shocked and deeply affected by his friend's sudden death. Many of his pictures centered on his friend's death and he began to paint almost entirely in blue. His most famous painting on this subject is arguably "Death of Casagemas" (left). He was in grief, lonely and very restless during this time, which was reflected in his work. This later came to be known as his "blue period."

"Painting is stronger than me, it makes me do its bidding." - Picasso.