Banjo constructed out of Nature

Degas Ballerina Sketch; Rendition by Yours Truely :)

Drawn with colored chalk pastels on a window shade.  My own rendition; a tad different from the original, but this is just my style.

Louise Greenfield

I've chosen the photographer Louise Greenfield to do my Photography project on.  She has so many wonderful pieces...

 

 

 

 

Artist: Picasso

 

Artist: Pablo Picasso

 

Birth: October 25, 1881

 

Death: April 8, 1973 in France (age 83)

 

Country born: Spain

 

Country(s) resided during artistic training and highlighted creative periods:  At age 7, Pablo received formal artistic training by his father, in figure drawing and oil painting.  Picasso made his first trip to Paris in 1900, then the art capital of the world.  He met his first Parisian friend, a journalist and poet, Max Jacob.  Max helped Picasso learn the language and literature in France, and they soon shared an apartment together

 

Did artist’s interest start in art or where they schooled in something else first, i.e. voice, music, law?  No, ever since Pablo was a young child, he had been interested in the arts; his first word being “piz”, Spanish for ‘pencil’.  His father was a fine arts professor, and groomed this prodigy by getting Picasso the best education the family good afford.    

 

Name of school they received artistic training (if they did not have formal training be sure to state that.):  At just the young age of 13, Picasso was admitted advanced art classes in The School of Fine Arts in A Coruna, where his father was a professor.  His father and uncle decided to send young Pablo to Madrid’s Royal Academy of San Fernando, the country’s best art school, in 1897 at age 16 where he set off for the first time on his own. 

 

Was there an artist that influenced their artwork or they personally trained with? He formally trained with his father at age 7.  Picasso admired the works of El Greco; the elements, the elongated limbs, arresting colors, and mystical visages deeply resonated within young Pablo. 

 

Was there an art form, such as Japanese art, that influenced their artwork? Picasso was strongly influenced by African sculptures and artwork, which then influenced ‘Picasso’s African Period’, where you created numerous pieces that were a style derived from the inspiration of African art. 

 

What art movement were they most known for? Picasso was never conformed to any one movement; that was one of unique traits as an artist; he liked to jump around to different style and movements.  He was known as one of the creators of Cubism and he also was a part of the Surrealism movement, Realism, and Neo-Expressionism.

 

What/who did they use as their subject matter most often for their art, i.e. landscapes, dancers, portraits, etc.?          

Picasso had a very wide range in what he used subject matter in his art.  Although some subjects would appear more than others throughout his paintings; especially when going through one of his art periods, such as the ‘Blue period’ and the ‘Rose period’.  Such subjects included: Female nudes, musicians, guitars, people in poverty, portraits, circus life and circus performers, acrobats, dancers, everyday life, a number of abstract and distorted figures, and many others. 

 

What artistic medium(s) did they employ in their artwork, i.e. pastel, watercolor, oils, etc.? Picasso mainly used oil on canvas for his paintings, but he also used newspapers and recycled materials for his collages; but Picasso, like with his subjects, never really used one things, he used many different techniques, mediums and materials, and even invented some as well. 

 

What was their most predominant medium? Picasso was predominately a painter, and known for it today.  So Picasso was known to most frequently use oil on canvas and acrylics. 

 

Where the performing arts part of some or many of their work?  What influenced them to use the performing art? Picasso painted and created a number of pictures, collages, and 3D objects that were of musicians and instruments, predominantly guitars.  But Picasso also sketched and painted dancers and performers, and he is also known for his costumes he designed for many plays and performances, along with designing and painting sets and stages. 

 

What was happening in the performing arts area the artist was involved in that may have had an impact on how they created? (Time period, style, etc.) Being that Picasso was living right in the heart of, at the time, the most important performing arts and fine arts city, there most likely was numerous amounts of inspiration that contributed to Picasso’s artworks.  He was very intrigued by theatre, which was a big part of Parisian life at the time, and which he designed costumes and stage sets for several different plays. 

 

 Find a piece of work from the artist that relates to the performing arts that you find interesting or captures your attention. 

 

 

   This painting by Picasso is titled, “Old Man Playing Guitar”.  This was painted during Pablo’s ‘blue period’, where he created several pieces that were dominated by blue hues and depicted sadness, poverty, and oppression.  This is one of my all-time-favorites of his.  Just the way the old man sits, and hangs his head in silent sorrow; slowly fingering his guitar, either for his own pleasure for music or possibly for money.  He is obviously quite a down-trodden fellow, likely living in poverty that Pablo had grown to know so well.  The emotions in this picture are so deep and intimate, and there could be many reasons for this old man’s saddened state.  This picture really speaks to me, and I love it.