Tracing the Life of Pablo Picasso

GUEST POST OVERVIEW: A fascinating summary of the life of Pablo Picasso, sent in by one of my readers …

Pablo Picasso is by far the most famous artist to come from Spain. The painter, sculptor and poet was one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century and is still widely respected to this day. He is widely known for cofounding the cubist movement and influencing art as it is today.

Picasso has a huge following and many people visit Malaga and other destinations to trace the life of the extrovert painter. Picasso was born in Malaga in 1881 to painter Don José Ruiz y Blasco and María Picasso y López. The artist showed passion and enthusiasm for painting at an early age and his father endeavored to teach him the ways of the old masters. The family moved often, following Blasco’s job as an art teacher. Soon after they moved to Barcelona it was clear that Picasso was moving away from traditional painters and he was sent to Madrid to study at art school.

Picasso stopped attending lectures soon after enrolling at the school and spent his days exploring the city and its many offerings. After spending some time in Paris he moved back to Madrid and started to publish a magazine with his anarchist friend.

After this point the painter began to gain favor with American art collectors and enjoyed considerable fame after this point. Many museums across the world now house paintings by the artist who died in 1973 aged 91.

His paintings now sell for huge amounts, in fact one of his paintings sold for over 100 million dollars in 2004.The total number of artworks he produced has been estimated at 50,000 and there have been more of his paintings stolen than anyone else.

There are now several museums dedicated to the artist, including the Museo Picasso, Málaga; Musée Picasso, Antibes, France; Museu Picasso, Barcelona, Spain; and Musée National Picasso, Paris.