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Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 1

Edward the Bonobo - Gone.

Because they both had blue periods. smiley - run

First...a quote from George Melly: 'Picasso, being, an incorrible self-publicist, once claimed that he could draw like Raphael at the age of seven. As with much of what he said, that was a slight exaggeration. He couldn't do that until he was seventeen.'

So...let's accept first off that he was extraordinarily skilled technically. He could paint however he wanted. But what really interested him was different *ways* of painting (and sculpting) - different ways of seeing the world. With that in mind, he totally re-invented art - not just once, but several times in his career.

- Cubism, obviously. He realised that we have a spatial dimension to the way we see http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=21985&searchid=7778
- But he got bored with that. His paintings got flatter (his blue period)...http://web.mit.edu/pacing/www/images/blue-nude.jpg
-...and I reckon that this culminated in the extreme flatness of works like Guernica. http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=11869&searchid=7778
- That wasn't the only way of seeing, though. His Rose period uses colour to add a spatial dimension. http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/O0016121.html- And he also added a temporal dimension, realising that the eye makes a journey as it looks at a painting, focusing on different elements at different times http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=11861&searchid=7778&tabview=image Yes, it's then tits that stand out.
- And, putting many of these elements together...have you ever seen a more 'realistic' painting than this? http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=11871&searchid=7778

We haven't even touched on his amazingly creative late period yet...but let's leave painting aside for a moment and touch on how he constantly re-invented what we understand by 'sculpture':

(I'm having trouble finding the pics I want, so you'll have to trust me)

- Well, first off, he was interested in breaking down forms into basic geometry - but he wasn't the only one doing that (eg Brancusi), and he took a lot of his inspiration from African art.
- Then, he started to sculpt *space*. Hollow sculptures! This was really revolutionary! Nobody had done it before! Think about it...sculpture is about carving stone or moulding metal...but what about a sculpture made out of air?
- And then there's his idea of breaking sculpturev down into components...even everyday, familiar components - like his famous bull's head made from a bike saddle and handlebars
- And other component-based sculptures such as this (Waves to PC): http://www.worldofstock.com/closeups/ASC1358.php

Anyway...that's enough for starters. There's much more that could be said, much more ground uncovered. To sample some of the sheer variety of the man's work, this is the best link I've found: http://www.insecula.com/contact/A009007_oeuvre_1_page1.html


I'll leave you with another quote. Not about Picasso, but about Modigliani. At a party I once heard the junkie brother of a friend lecturing someone he'd trapped in a corner: 'It's not a matter of taste or anything...either you think Modigliani's a total f***ing genius or you're a slack-brained f***wit!

But I'll leave you to decide about Picasso.


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 2

Researcher 556780



Appreciate sharing your opinions..smiley - bigeyes

smiley - artist


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 3

Researcher 556780



Funny thing is, when I was younger, I would just look at Picasso's works and think, "huh, weird bloke - wonder what it's like to live in his head" and leave it at that..

Now I see a bit differently.

I don't have, at least not yet, a fave piece that he did - do you?


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 4

Edward the Bonobo - Gone.

Possibly the Nude in the Red Armchair that I've linked to above. Also...I've always had a soft spot for a drawing of Don Quixote that my best friend's mother used to have above her fireplace: http://www.artsender.com/gallery/details.asp?PaintingID=4486

But really it's more the sheer breadth of his inventiveness. In comparison, I find Dali something of an one trick pony.


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 5

Edward the Bonobo - Gone.

I should have said...the Nude in the Red Armchair was probably the first gunu-wine Picasso I ever saw close-up, on my first unaccompanied trip to London.


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 6

Researcher 556780



I do like the Don Q, seems like a quick after thought sketch quite childlike even..that was my first impression.

The nude in the red armchair, that boob fair slaps you in the face *chuckles* I do like his sense of humour...or my perception of it anyways!

What does gunu-wine mean? smiley - erm

I quite like the bowl of fruit, violin and bottle.

I have a feeling that if I could see these pictures in person I might change my..well of course I would..views about some of them.


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 7

Researcher 556780



I like Dali, and yet I have to agree with you, that some of his stuff is quite 'samey'.

Escher is rather fun, but I have seen too many representations of his that I have gotten bored of it.

What do you think of Goya?

I find them really horrible and disturbing to look at, and in some kind of weird way...I enjoy that about art too....like sitting down to be scared or horrified at a horror movie...type thing.


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 8

Edward the Bonobo - Gone.

Hmmm. I'd never thought of the nude as funny as such...but why not? David Hockney was talking about it on TV once and he said 'The first thing you see is her t**s and her c**t.' (It sounded funny in his accent). But that's very perceptive of Picasso...thet's the first thing I'd see in *any* nude!smiley - smiley

The Don Quixote - I like his drawings because they are so technically good. Simple - but conveying so much. See also Paul Klee....and Tracy Emin! (a fine drawer!).

Anyway...you need to get a big book of Picasso and take a look.

Escher - yes - nice and tricksy, but not great art. I grew out of him when I was a teenager.

Goya...superb! He was a major influence on Francis Bacon.


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 9

Researcher 556780



Francis Bacon - YESS!! I really like his blurred imagery. My faves are the Elephant Fording the River and Two Figures in the Grass...I like his work alot..and that Pope one..awesome!

Tracey Emin - I'm ambivilant about, I like her picture - I've got it all, other stuff of hers leaves me cold smiley - erm mebbe I'll feel differently later. I haven't really seen any drawings of hers...just the odd painting...like the baths one.

Paul Klee...not one I'd heard of! smiley - bigeyes Like his use of colour.

Haven't got any big books of Picasso...may take a trip down the library one day...or perhaps the book store - which reminds me..I found a book of illustrations by Giger there t'other day smiley - bigeyes right next to Churches and Cathedrals...seemed kind of wrong somehow - smiley - rofl


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 10

Edward the Bonobo - Gone.

I saw an amazing Paul Klee exhibition in Edinburgh a couple of years ago. He described his drawing technique as 'Taking a line for a walk.'

Least favourite artist? Any of the pre-Raphaelites!


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 11

Researcher 556780



"taking a line for walk" I like that smiley - biggrin

I'm still very uneducated in art...having not had any formal training or indeed really taking that much notice till the last couple of years...I had to go refresh myself on pre-raphaelites smiley - blush...and I find I like the detail smiley - erm altho I can see why you don't like it as much, you have a very defined taste in that you have a penchant for the architecture of thought behind the picture and not just for the pictures sake.

I think!

I've seen the Reuben's in King's College, Cambridge. I haven't been to many art gallery'sas yet - I'm working on it! Just the odd few local ones.

As for least favourite artist I don't think I have one - at least not yet, just ones that are nondescript and or do nothing for me..still I find them briefly interesting in that I wonder why the hell did s/he bother for example.

I afraid that in my stuff, it's not that interesting either, more 'pretty' pictures than anything is how I would describe them.


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 12

Edward the Bonobo - Gone.

I;m totally uneducated myself! It's not like I've been in a classroom and learnt all this stuffsmiley - smiley All opinions expressed are entirely my own. However...there;s nothing I'd rather do than walk around an art gallery.
On of my favourites, which I used to visit a lot because I lived down that way, is the Fitzwillian in Cambridge.

I guess what made the breakthrough for me was a couple of Art Appreciation classes in sixth form. We learnt all about Golden Section in Renaissance art...then we saw a Mondriaan...and I was hooked.

On my first trip to an art gallery (The Walker in Liverpool), they had an Edvard Munch exhibition. How lucky was that?!

Get yourself down to NYC, Wumman!


Why was Pablo Picasso like Princess Di?

Post 13

Researcher 556780



You are quite right, I should get to some galleries in NYC...will talk Geo into it perhaps...he's not really a gallery man, more rocks n' things....we did a tour of the Natural History museum last summer smiley - biggrin that was good!

I used to live in Cambridge, wasn't really paying much attention to what Cambridge had to offer when I lived there in the early ninties...I could give you detailed tour of the pubs and clubs tho, right thro Cambridge, Newmarket and Ipswich tho smiley - rofl...

Mondriaan - I had to go look him up smiley - bigeyes For me the Red Mill, The Girl and the New York period pics stand out.

You got to see an Edvard Munch...COR!! Yeh lucky is that.


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