Artist of the Week: Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso in 1962 Lived: 1881-1973

About the Artist Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, and ceramist (pottery). He is the most well know for playing a part in the creation of the style of art called Cubism. Cubism is a way of painting which tries to show all of the different views of a person/object at the same time. The reason why they chose this word is because they way they painted their art looked like it was made of cubes and other geometric shapes.

Bowl of Fruit, Violin and Bottle 1914, Lent by the National Gallery 1997

Picasso made many different other styles of art as well- so many so that people divided his life/art into eight stages! When he was 23, he moved to Paris. He became friends with many different artists and became inspired by art from all over the world.

Home Project: Observe and Create Art

Weeping Woman 1937, Tate

Give your child a chance to observe the picture above. What is this a picture of? What is the woman doing? What is she holding in her hands? Notice the colors that Picasso used for the woman’s face. What kinds of shapes did he use to make her face that you might not see when you look in the mirror?

Create Your Own Picasso-Inspired Portrait Using Paper Collage [Remember: Creating art at this age is more process versus product. It is alright if your child’s picture looks different than you expect- this is their interpretation!]

You Will Need: • Large piece of black (or dark-colored) paper • A paper pre-cut “head and neck” to start with (see picture below) • Assorted colored paper, cut into various shapes and various sizes [You can do this in advance for younger artists, or have older artists assist you!] • Glue/Glue Stick • Scissors • Mirror (optional) and above picture, to observe their own face and compare Instructions:

• Collect and organize your art station. Cut out a head and neck piece and glue it onto the black paper. This will be the foundation of your child’s portrait. • Talk to your child about the different features on their face. What shapes might they use to make their nose? Eyes? What shapes did Picasso use? Note how Picasso used different shapes when he painted pictures of people than we usually see. Let your child know that it is alright to use different colors and different shapes than they typically would for their face.

• Let your child glue the different shapes onto their “face.” They can choose to cut the shapes to change them into something different.

Source Information: Who Is Pablo Picasso? – Who Are They? Tate- https://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/who-is/who-pablo-picasso

Pablo Picasso- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso

Cubism- Kidzsearch https://wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Cubism