Pablo Picasso, was born in Malaga, Spain. He was born on October 25, 1881, and died on April 8, 1973. He is one of the most influential painters of the 20th century. Being a son of a professor of art, he was recognized for his talents at a young age. He graduated an advanced student at the “Barcelona Academy of Fine Arts” at the age of fourteen.

He was greatly influenced by a couple of artist’, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as, Paul Cézanne. These influences can be sensed in the painting’s in Picasso’ “Blue Period”. Picasso painted people suffering in some way, in a lot of his paintings in this period. But in 1904, his art changed to his “rose period”. In this period his paintings were warmer and more colorful.

Suddenly these periods disappeared as quickly as they began, and a new forum of art was created, “Cubism”. This form of art focused on pre-Christian Iberian bronzes and of African sculpture. While a fellow artist experimented in just paintings, Picasso experimented in both paintings and sculptures. In doing so, he produced his painting called, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. Through out his life, he moved a lot, he moved back and forth from France and Spain, until he finally settled down in Paris.

Soon Picasso out-grew this form of art too, so he added surrealism to his work.

After WWII, Picasso moved to the south of France. Here he began to become interested in the classical cultural tradition of the Mediterranean. Mythological creatures then began to show up in his work. Finally on April 8, 1973, Picasso’s life came to a end. Even though he had died, of a heart attack, he left behind him a legacy of new ideas on how art was perceived.