October 22, 2020 My supercalifragilisticexpialidocious padlet by Kathryn Hilliard

¹ Although he died in 1973, Pablo Ruiz y Picasso remains one of the 20th century's most famous artists. He made drawings, etchings, and sculptures, and also wrote poetry and plays. He was one of the inventors of the art form of collage, and he helped found the art movement known as cubism. He even made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the most pieces of art!

² At a young age, Pablo Picasso's parents recognized his talent. His father was José Ruiz, a Spanish artist and also an art professor. Ruiz became his son's first drawing teacher. Little Picasso was said to be smart and sensitive. He had a pale face set with dark, observant eyes.

³ When Picasso was 14, he painted a series of small religious-themed pictures. He was doing classical art. In 1900, before he turned 20, Picasso moved to Paris, France. That's what many artists did; Paris was a magnet for artists. When he first arrived, he was poor, so he lived with the poet Max Jacob, who was also poor. They took turns sleeping in the one bed they had. Jacob slept on it at night, and Picasso slept on it during the day. They were so poor that when it was cold, they burned some of Picasso's drawings for warmth! This was not a good time in Picasso's life. A friend of his committed suicide, and that affected him as well. This bad time moved him into what is called his blue period. It lasted from 1901 - 1904. During this time the artist used lots of blue in his artwork. Looking at those paintings may make the viewer feel depressed.

⁴ Then his mood lifted. For the next two years Picasso was in his rose period. During that time, he enjoyed painting circus performers. He used lots of red and pink in his work. This artwork was popular, and Picasso began to make money as an artist. He would never be poor again! From 1907 to 1908 Picasso was in his African influenced period. His art at this time was inspired by African artifacts. In 1909 Picasso developed a new style. Called cubism, it was far from normal! In cubism, the front and sides of an object would be displayed. It's as if the object was flattened into geometric patterns. If your face were the object, the artist would paint all your features. Then he might have you turn your head to the side so that he could add your ears. Some of Picasso's work in this style is hard to figure out, but it looks like he had fun doing it. This is called his cubism period.

⁵ Picasso reverted to a classical period again, and it ran from 1921 to around 1927. He began painting people and objects more realistically. His shapes were soft and round, not hard and square as in cubism. However, cubism continued to call his name, and he answered the call.

⁶ Of all of Picasso's artwork, none was as dramatic as the famous Guernica. Inspired by an event during the civil war in Spain, it is a cubist's view of the innocent victims of war. The painting is almost 12 feet tall and 25 feet wide. Picasso presented human and animal victims of a bombing screaming in agony. Picasso never visited the city of Guernica. It's by no means a realistic picture, but it represents Picasso's feelings of outrage and sorrow over the tragic loss of innocent life.

⁷ You can easily experiment with cubism. Have someone photograph your face twice. One photo should be a little closer than the other, and your expressions can differ if you like. Then you will need a picture of your left profile and your right profile. Lay one face picture down as your base. Take the other photos and cut out strips and also a few features. Rub a glue stick on the back side of the cut pieces you want to use before placing them on the base picture. You may put one eye on sideways and leave the other normal. You may put a profile of your lips right next to your base mouth. Some of the base will show. You won't cover the entire photo with your bits and pieces. You may use strips to make your hair and forehead higher in places. When you are done, study the results. See if you can reproduce those results in a sketch. You don't have to worry about looking realistic. Just have fun with cubism, and remember the artist who perfected it: Picasso.

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