The painter of pigeons
ADITI DE
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Picasso held his first painting exhibition at 13. He never doubted he was the best.
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"Femme aux bras croises", painted by Picasso during his Blue period...
Which artist, who transformed 20th century art, lived on a diet of mainly fish, vegetables, rice pudding, raspberries in milk, carrot-pea soup and mineral water? He bought a mansion in southern France for the price of one of his still life paintings. He constantly wore striped sailor's jerseys, baggy trousers, Turkish slippers and berets (especially when he began balding). And the animals he sheltered included a monkey, reptiles, Afghan hounds — and Esmerelda the goat!
You guessed it! He's Pablo Picasso. He towered over his contemporaries in sheer talent, though he stood at 5ft. 2 in. in his bare feet! Born in Malaga, Spain, in 1881, he found it tough to read or write — because he was dyslexic. Bored in class, Pablo would bring a pigeon with him, to sketch it over and over again.
At 10, Pablo hated numbers, but easily translated them into his beloved pigeons. "I'll show them what I can do," he resolved. "I won't miss a single detail... The little eye of the pigeon is round like an 0. Under the 0 a 6, under that a 3. The eyes are like 2's, and so are the wings. The little feet rest on the table, as if on a horizontal line... Underneath it all, the total." An unusual way to cope with maths!
His father, Don Jose Ruiz, was an art teacher. His doting mother, Dona Maria Picasso, believed Pablo was destined for glory — that if he joined the army he would become a general, if he joined the church he would become the Pope! He had two younger sisters, Lola and Conchita.
Long before he learnt to speak, Pablo discovered how to get across by drawing. For instance, he loved churros, the sugar-coated twisting fritters that were sold piping hot at Spanish street stalls. The three-year-old would just draw a spiral on a sheet of paper, and his wish would be granted! How magical!
Believe it or not, Picasso held his first painting exhibition at 13, in the backroom of a Malaga umbrella store. Before he left for Paris five years later, he wrote across his most recent self-portrait: "I the king. I the king... " He never doubted he was the best. Yet, when his first Paris flat was burgled, the thieves stole everything except his paintings!
Like a true Spaniard, Picasso loved bullfights. He was fascinated by the matador's lack of fear. At eight, he did an oil painting of a mounted picador in a bullring. Don Jose, who loved the sport, explained all its mysteries to him.
As a father, Picasso often behaved oddly to amuse his four children. He would draw on tablecloths, do magic tricks, or prepare dinners made up entirely of chocolate desserts. But as he grew older, he cut himself off from people, except his fans. He even refused to meet his two grandchildren!
One of Picasso's most powerful paintings was `Guernica', his response to the German bombing of a Spanish town in World War II, in which over 1600 civilians died. Entering his studio during the German occupation of Paris, a Nazi officer asked about a photograph of this work, "So, it was you who did that?" Picasso replied, "No, you did it." Wasn't that quick-witted?
When Picasso first settled in Paris, all his self-portraits, beggars or harlequins turned out sad and blue. That was called his Blue Period. Then, he fell in love with a neighbour, which inspired his Pink Period, when his `Family of Saltimbanques', a group of circus performers, fetched him a spectacular price! From 1945 onwards, at least six books about the brash, colourful Picasso were published each year.
Even at 90, Picasso painted 200 works. He was still painting the day he died, two years later in 1973. Are his masterstrokes you'd like to follow?
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