HANA ABRAHAM - Key Persons

Pablo Picasso (October 25, 1881 � April 8, 1973) born in M�laga, Spain, was a Spanish print-maker, sculptor, painter, stage designer, and ceramicist who lived most of his adult life in France. One of the co-founders of the Cubist movement, Picasso was one of the most prominent and influential artists of the 20th-century. He was also known for the co-invention of collage, the invention of constructed sculpture, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped explore and develop. Picasso is the foundation of modern art. His movement, Cubism has influenced many artists since it was born. According to Picasso, �Every act of creation is first an act of deconstruction,� which is true for cubism, because it breaks apart the picture only to put it back together again in an abstract way. Personal Life Picasso was born into an artist�s family. His dad painted professionally and taught him art from a very young age. He started painting at seven, which was unusual back then. Picasso was born on October 25, 1881, right into the golden age of Impressionism and Realism. His father was a realist, but Picasso hated all formalities in art. He attended the Royal Academy in San Fernando, Spain, but dropped out after a few days. Formal training allowed no creativity, so instead of going to school, he decided he would just go to all the local art exhibits and look at them for hours on end. Gertrude Stein, an American art collector, was looking at one of the local galleries where Picasso had some of his art work on display, and was completely amazed by it. She started buying his work and showing it off in her gallery at her house in France. He thanked her by painting a portrait of her, which is the last of his realistic art. In 1904, Picasso met Fernande Olivier, who became his mistress. Olivier appears in many paintings during his Rose Period. After acquiring fame, he left her for another woman Marcelle Humbert, whom he nicknamed Eva Gouel. This was the only woman he ever truly loved, and he was devastated when she died in an accident. She appears in many of his cubist works, but is hard to distinguish due to the abstraction of his art. His first marriage was in the summer of 1918, to a ballerina Olga Khoklova. She danced with the Sergei Diaghilev Troupe, and they met because Picasso was designing a ballet for Troupe. They had one child, a boy named Paulo, and he grew up to be a chauffeur for Picasso. They separated soon after because Picasso didn�t want to get a divorce, or he would have to have given Olga 50% of all his wealth. In 1927, he met 17 year old Maria-Thereus Walter, and began having an affair with her. They had a daughter, Maia, but they never married, despite her wishes. Four years after Picasso died, she hung herself.read more