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The Life and Styles of Pablo Picasso Essay

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Now is the time in this period of changes and revolution to use a revolutionary manner of painting and not to paint like before. - Pablo Picasso, 1935. (Barnes)

Pablo Picasso is one of the most famous and well-documented artists of the twentieth century. Picasso, unlike most painters, is even more special because he did not confine himself to canvas, but also produced sculpture, poetry, and ceramics in profusion. Although much is known about this genius, there is still a lust after more knowledge concerning Picasso, his life and the creative forces that motivated him. This information can be obtained only through a careful study of the events that played out during his lifetime and the ways in which they manifested themselves in his …show more content…

As Picasso pointed out Cubism "is the attitude of aggression" that could give him complete control over himself, his emotions, and his surroundings.

This logically leads to a brief discussion of what Picasso felt was art and what he considered the duty of the artist to be. In a brief conversation with one of his biographers, Picasso commented that he saw art as something not to be understood or interpreted.

Everyone wants to understand art.... In the case of a painting people have to understand. If only they would realize above all that an artist works out of necessity, that he himself is only a trifling bit of the world, and that no more importance should be attached to him than to plenty of other things, things which please us in the world, though we can't explain them (Barnes).

Picasso painted for himself, as a release from the pressures of his society and as a way to express his thoughts and problems in tangible form. For this reason, the events happening around the time of any Picasso work must be understood before the true meaning of any resulting art can be understood.

In the time period directly before the painting of Bull's Skull, Fruit, Pitcher, many hardships befell Picasso. As William Rubin explains, during the winter of 1938, Picasso was bedridden with a severe attack of sciatica. Two other tragic events happened to Picasso during the month of

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