Picasso
Picasso is one of the most creative and influential artists of the contemporary West, one of the greatest artistic geniuses of the 20th century.
He accounted for four of the top 10 most expensive paintings at auction in the world. As a painter whose paintings were collected by the Louvre during his lifetime, Picasso's existence has undoubtedly made a strong mark on the history of Western art.
But why is this person who is not as good as a three-year-old child in the eyes of many people?
You take a look at his paintings—
If you want to compose without composition, if you want to shape without modeling, and if you don't look good as my child's drawing, why is it called a master? Can you be called a master if you can't understand the painting?
Have you ever known Picasso as a teenager? Probably the answer is here.
1
Picasso is not as good as you? Have you seen his works when he was younger?
Pablo Picasso once said, "I was already painting like Raphael when I was a child, but it took me all my life to learn how to paint like a child." ”
Do you think it's narcissistic for him to say that? Let's take a closer look at his work when he was four years old.
From composition to color matching to human figures, from occlusion to dynamic grasp, this is the work of a four-year-old child who can't even hold a pen???
There are really geniuses in this world, and Picasso is! And the progress of genius is also rapid.
Picasso's 12-year-old sketch plaster cast, do you think it's already excellent and shocking? Not at all! His thirteen-year-old works are completely comparable to many realist masters.
Picasso's oil painting "The Old Fisherman" when he was 13 years old:
"The First Communion" Picasso's 14-year-old work:
And this "Science and Mercy" was created by Picasso under the guidance of his teacher after entering art school.
We can see that this picture shows the doctor and nun caring for the sick together, and the tone of the whole picture is very heavy, through the picture, we can see Picasso's reflections and his humanitarian spirit. Who can believe that such a painting is the work of a 15-year-old boy.
Have you been deeply shocked that Picasso, who we thought could not even be compared to a child, actually made his works so realistic when he was young?
So, Picasso is really not exaggerating when he said that he painted like a master when he was a child. So why did Picasso's later works become like that? What is even more strange is that Picasso became famous not because of realism, but after Cubism.
It can be seen that basic skills are necessary but not sufficient conditions for the master, and we will see how the master is cultivated.
2
Picasso "the more he paints, the worse he gets"?
Looking at Picasso's paintings in his early years, we have reason to suspect that he is in a state of "reverse growth", is Picasso really "getting worse and worse the more he paints"? Let's take a look at the history of Mr. Bi's self-portrait.
15 years old
24 years old
56 years old
Is it a question mark on your face after reading it? In fact, as Picasso himself said, "it takes a lifetime to learn to draw like a child." He gave up his comfort zone, deviated from the traditional path of painting, and came to Paris, the capital of art, to start his unique artistic path.
After our amazing youth, Picasso entered a gloomy and gloomy blue period due to the suicide of his friend. The appearance of his lover Olivier breathes a breath of life into Picasso's paintings, and the picture is filled with a pink romantic universe. Then he is best known for his Cubism, which made Picasso truly famous.
It can be seen that he is always innovating and changing, and Picasso is also known as an "eternally young painter" because of the variety of creative methods and the diversity of work styles.
Picasso during the Blue Period
Picasso works from the Pink Period
Picasso works of the Cubist period
When it comes to cubism, I have to mention "The Girls of Avignon". It is considered to be the earliest work in the Cubist style, and Cubism is also considered to be a watershed between traditional art and modern art.
We can see that these women seem to be distorted, but in fact the leftmost one has the usual Egyptian positive gestures, from the faces of the two people in the middle, we can see traces of Spanish ancient Iberian carving, and the women on the right are influenced by African art, each of which was created by Picasso's thoughtful creation, his innovation in the context of his rich knowledge. Who would dare to say that this is a simple fabrication?
Picasso was always thinking about change, although it seemed to us that these were "growing in reverse".
This is Picasso's own uniqueness, from post-impressionism, fauvism and classicism to comprehend innovation, and influenced by black African sculpture and ancient Iberian art, he also has a great interest in oriental art, Cézanne's geometric composition geometric structure beauty is to give him new inspiration to pursue.
When a painter sees the front of the object he wants to paint, doesn't the object have sides and back? …… Can we draw them "at the same time"? In other words, is it possible to draw "multi-dimensional" objects on a "two-dimensional" canvas?
- Picasso
Picasso was an adventurous genius who wanted to depict a dynamic figure in his paintings, an individual with "two-sidedness" rather than monotony, and his constant experimentation also led to his constantly surpassing and changing artistic style.
He opened up new artistic styles while returning to the old ones to find new possibilities, which is why Picasso's works are difficult to understand, and why Picasso may have achieved such success.
3
People who have seen their paintings in the Louvre
This achievement is extremely excellent. Picasso, a genius who is willing to break himself to transform, is also destined to be extraordinary.
For those whose influence is limited to the art world, the public may not bow down to him, but Picasso's artistic energy has radiated to architecture, luxury goods, and even people's daily lives.
For example, Le Corbusier, one of the most important architects of the 20th century, was deeply influenced by Picasso, and his Villa Savoy was inspired by Picasso's Guernica.
Picasso's Guernica
Les Corbusier's work – Villa Savoy
And when Chanel and Picasso collide together, what kind of new sparks will be generated?
In 1924, in the ballet "Blue Train", Chanel was responsible for the costume design of the whole play, and Picasso was responsible for the creation of the program and curtains.
Picasso's giant set for ballet
Woman on the Beach
Picasso once revealed, "Painting is not an aesthetic process, but a ...... A magic, a way of gaining power, which overrides our fears and desires. "If you understand Picasso's work, you can understand the "magic" that Picasso wants to express and apply it to other areas of life.
This is also what we want to understand the meaning of Picasso today, to light up a new aesthetic skill for ourselves, one is the first, and the second is to absorb the treasures in Picasso's art.
If you want to understand Picasso thoroughly, it is difficult to say that it is difficult, and Chen Danqing also told us, "After reading Picasso's works, you still don't understand it very well." Why Picasso is not easy to understand involves a knowledge preparation and a vision. ”
So if you really want to understand Picasso, it's not something that can be done instantaneously, maybe you have to look at African art, Cézanne's art, look at neoclassicism, which is Ingres's art, and Greek art......