I chose Picasso because his life choices so repel me that I used to spurn his work as well. Then I spent an afternoon at the Picasso Museum in Paris and was completely blown off my feet by his earthiness and the way his solid flat-footed masculinity is reflected in his solid flat-footed paintings (and goats). Wow. When I went to Wikipedia to look for a list of his artworks, unlike the other people I reviewed who have only one page, Picasso’s incredibly versatile output had to be divided up into decades. He made 50,000 artworks.
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (1881-1973) was a showman, an extraverted, violent, opinionated, versatile experimenter. He pioneered Cubism, constructed sculpture, and collage, and explored many other styles such as surrealism.
Picasso’s father was an art professor who taught him by setting him to copy the great masters. He encouraged his son to apply for an advanced class at Barcelona’s School of Fine Arts when he was only 13. Picasso was accepted. Later, he went to art school in Madrid, though he dropped out because he didn’t like formal instruction. By 1900 he was in Paris, living in poverty, burning his work to keep warm, and illustrating for a leftist magazine. His break came when Gertrude Stein and her family began collecting him. I saw some early Picassos at an exhibit in Vancouver recently, which were collected by the Boston Cone sisters who were members of Stein’s circle.
During his long life, Picasso powered through dozens of women, including Fernande Olivier (with whom he adopted a girl, made creepy drawings of her, and sent her back to the orphanage), a woman named Marcelle Humbert whom he called Eva Gouel, a bunch of ballerinas including Olga Khokhlova whom he married (and with whom he had a son, Paulo), a 17-year-old girl (with whom he had a daughter, Maya, and who hanged herself after Picasso neglected to marry her) ... well, I was going to make a list but I only have about a page to work with and it would interfere with the rest of my essay; also speculating about whether reports of abuse by these women would distract us from the point as well. But let’s not forget his final marriage to the model Jacqueline Roque, who was 46 years younger than he, partly in order to disinherit his children by Françoise Gilot (oh, did I mention her? Whatever.).
While Picasso stayed somewhat aloof from politics, he did join the Communist Party. He stayed in Paris during the German occupation, keeping his head down, painting, and writing poetry: May 15, 1943 the flute the grapes the umbrella the armor the tree and the accordion the butterfly wings of the sugar of the blue fan of the lake and the azure waves of the silks of the strings hanging from the bouquets of roses of the ladders one and incalculable outsized flood of doves released drunk on the cutting festoons of prisms fixed to the bells decomposing with its thousand lit candles the green flocks of wool illuminated by the gentle acrobatics of the lanterns hanging from each arc string and the definitive dawn –translated from French by Pierre Joris
In his later years, he added ceramics and film to his interests.
Picasso’s versatility is staggering. At the beginning, he explored realistic form and shape (thus proving to later scoffers that he could indeed paint anatomically proper figures). In his Blue Period (1901-4, image at left), he painted gaunt figures in blue, in his Rose Period (1904-6) he painted circus people. The harlequin became a frequent motif His African-influenced Period (1907-9, image at right) led into the Analytic Cubist Period (1909-12) and then the Synthetic Cubist Period (1912-19, image at right). After WWI, he imposed order in a neoclassical style, but drifted into surrealism soon afterwards. His most famous painting, Guernica, showing the German bombing during the Spanish Civil War (image at left), includes what was to become one of his most iconic motifs, the minotaur/bull. In the 1950’s, he began to imitate old masters, and as he aged, he drifted (prolifically) into neo-expressionism, which he appears to have invented.
In closing, wikipedia notes that “More of his paintings have been stolen than those by any other artist.”
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (1881-1973) was a showman, an extraverted, violent, opinionated, versatile experimenter. He pioneered Cubism, constructed sculpture, and collage, and explored many other styles such as surrealism.
Picasso’s father was an art professor who taught him by setting him to copy the great masters. He encouraged his son to apply for an advanced class at Barcelona’s School of Fine Arts when he was only 13. Picasso was accepted. Later, he went to art school in Madrid, though he dropped out because he didn’t like formal instruction. By 1900 he was in Paris, living in poverty, burning his work to keep warm, and illustrating for a leftist magazine. His break came when Gertrude Stein and her family began collecting him. I saw some early Picassos at an exhibit in Vancouver recently, which were collected by the Boston Cone sisters who were members of Stein’s circle.
During his long life, Picasso powered through dozens of women, including Fernande Olivier (with whom he adopted a girl, made creepy drawings of her, and sent her back to the orphanage), a woman named Marcelle Humbert whom he called Eva Gouel, a bunch of ballerinas including Olga Khokhlova whom he married (and with whom he had a son, Paulo), a 17-year-old girl (with whom he had a daughter, Maya, and who hanged herself after Picasso neglected to marry her) ... well, I was going to make a list but I only have about a page to work with and it would interfere with the rest of my essay; also speculating about whether reports of abuse by these women would distract us from the point as well. But let’s not forget his final marriage to the model Jacqueline Roque, who was 46 years younger than he, partly in order to disinherit his children by Françoise Gilot (oh, did I mention her? Whatever.).
While Picasso stayed somewhat aloof from politics, he did join the Communist Party. He stayed in Paris during the German occupation, keeping his head down, painting, and writing poetry: May 15, 1943 the flute the grapes the umbrella the armor the tree and the accordion the butterfly wings of the sugar of the blue fan of the lake and the azure waves of the silks of the strings hanging from the bouquets of roses of the ladders one and incalculable outsized flood of doves released drunk on the cutting festoons of prisms fixed to the bells decomposing with its thousand lit candles the green flocks of wool illuminated by the gentle acrobatics of the lanterns hanging from each arc string and the definitive dawn –translated from French by Pierre Joris
In his later years, he added ceramics and film to his interests.
Picasso’s versatility is staggering. At the beginning, he explored realistic form and shape (thus proving to later scoffers that he could indeed paint anatomically proper figures). In his Blue Period (1901-4, image at left), he painted gaunt figures in blue, in his Rose Period (1904-6) he painted circus people. The harlequin became a frequent motif His African-influenced Period (1907-9, image at right) led into the Analytic Cubist Period (1909-12) and then the Synthetic Cubist Period (1912-19, image at right). After WWI, he imposed order in a neoclassical style, but drifted into surrealism soon afterwards. His most famous painting, Guernica, showing the German bombing during the Spanish Civil War (image at left), includes what was to become one of his most iconic motifs, the minotaur/bull. In the 1950’s, he began to imitate old masters, and as he aged, he drifted (prolifically) into neo-expressionism, which he appears to have invented.
In closing, wikipedia notes that “More of his paintings have been stolen than those by any other artist.”
Guernica
Picasso's most famous painting, Guernica, showing the German bombing during the Spanish Civil War (thumbnail image at left), includes a wounded horse and a dominating bull. The symbolism of these animals is not simple.
The bull is a symbol of the Spanish people, and the horse of the Nationalist party during the Civil War. Also, the bull is a symbol of brutish animality, and the horse of faithfulness and victimization. Both cannot be true, right? Of course they can! Part of what gives this painting so much power is the presence of these animals in all their complexity of meaning and not-meaning. What is unambiguous is the grief and pain in the painting. Done in black-and-white, it depicts a world that has been drained of color. Since its first appearance at the Paris Exhibition in 1937, it has become a symbol of the horrors of war.
Guernica is a masterpiece because it has presented the need for peace to millions of people.
The bull is a symbol of the Spanish people, and the horse of the Nationalist party during the Civil War. Also, the bull is a symbol of brutish animality, and the horse of faithfulness and victimization. Both cannot be true, right? Of course they can! Part of what gives this painting so much power is the presence of these animals in all their complexity of meaning and not-meaning. What is unambiguous is the grief and pain in the painting. Done in black-and-white, it depicts a world that has been drained of color. Since its first appearance at the Paris Exhibition in 1937, it has become a symbol of the horrors of war.
Guernica is a masterpiece because it has presented the need for peace to millions of people.
Lesson Plan on Picasso's Fractured Faces (September 28, 2012)
1. Begin with a relaxation exercise, (5 minutes)
2. then warmups from Mona Brooks' "Drawing with Children." (15 minutes)
3. Afterwards, students can choose from several stations to learn specific drawing techniques, or to do something more open-ended (see below). After three 15-minute sessions at the stations, (45 minutes)
4. Do a whole-body spacial awareness lesson. Have each student step inside an imaginary hula-hoop. Slowly, one at a time, students may make a slow movement such as squatting, bringing the hands to the face, or stretching. Other students may copy this slow movement or add an idea of their own, first one at a time, then simultaneously. When everyone seems to be aware of what everyone else is doing, close the activity by asking students to do one final motion that takes into account everyone else's final movement. Moving their eyes only, they can look around to see what has been created. (10 minutes)
5. Masterwork: Do a piece of art that reflects what you have learned from all of these exercises. (30-45 minutes)
6. Cleanup
2. then warmups from Mona Brooks' "Drawing with Children." (15 minutes)
3. Afterwards, students can choose from several stations to learn specific drawing techniques, or to do something more open-ended (see below). After three 15-minute sessions at the stations, (45 minutes)
4. Do a whole-body spacial awareness lesson. Have each student step inside an imaginary hula-hoop. Slowly, one at a time, students may make a slow movement such as squatting, bringing the hands to the face, or stretching. Other students may copy this slow movement or add an idea of their own, first one at a time, then simultaneously. When everyone seems to be aware of what everyone else is doing, close the activity by asking students to do one final motion that takes into account everyone else's final movement. Moving their eyes only, they can look around to see what has been created. (10 minutes)
5. Masterwork: Do a piece of art that reflects what you have learned from all of these exercises. (30-45 minutes)
6. Cleanup
Station One: Picasso and his Works
1. Leaf through the books on Picasso at this station.
2. Find a painting that you really like.
...then, either
3. Copy all or part of the painting. Make several quick sketches first, then make a more careful copy.
... or...
4. Make a painting in a similar style to the one that you like.
2. Find a painting that you really like.
...then, either
3. Copy all or part of the painting. Make several quick sketches first, then make a more careful copy.
... or...
4. Make a painting in a similar style to the one that you like.
Station Two: Noses
1. Use the prompts to draw several noses.
2. When you are ready, draw some noses without looking at the prompts. Check to see if you've included all the important parts.
3. Use magazine pictures of faces to try more nose drawings.
2. When you are ready, draw some noses without looking at the prompts. Check to see if you've included all the important parts.
3. Use magazine pictures of faces to try more nose drawings.
Station Three: Eyes
1. Use the prompts to draw several eyes.
2. When you are ready, draw some eyes without looking at the prompts. Check to see if you've included all the important parts.
3. Use magazine pictures of faces to try more eye drawings.
2. When you are ready, draw some eyes without looking at the prompts. Check to see if you've included all the important parts.
3. Use magazine pictures of faces to try more eye drawings.
Station Four: Mouths
1. Use the prompts to draw several mouths.
2. When you are ready, draw some mouths without looking at the prompts. Check to see if you've included all the important parts.
3. Use magazine pictures of faces to try more mouth drawings.
2. When you are ready, draw some mouths without looking at the prompts. Check to see if you've included all the important parts.
3. Use magazine pictures of faces to try more mouth drawings.
Station Five: Ears
1. Use the worksheet to learn how ears are drawn.
2. Use magazine pictures and your friends' ears to draw more ears.
2. Use magazine pictures and your friends' ears to draw more ears.
Final Masterwork for Picasso's Fractured Faces Lesson
After a brief discussion about the movement exercise and how it can help you understand Picasso's "Face of a Woman," use what you have learned from the movement exercise and the station lessons to make a piece of art. 30 - 45 minutes.
Lesson Plan on Picasso's Realistic Faces (October 5, 2012)
1. Begin with a relaxation exercise, (5 minutes)
2. then warmups from Mona Brooks' "Drawing with Children." (15 minutes)
3. Afterwards, students can choose from several stations to learn specific drawing techniques, or to do something more open-ended (see below). After three 15-minute sessions at the stations, (45 minutes)
4. Short recess outside.
5. Masterwork: Do a piece of art that reflects what you have learned from all of these exercises. (30-45 minutes)
6. Cleanup
2. then warmups from Mona Brooks' "Drawing with Children." (15 minutes)
3. Afterwards, students can choose from several stations to learn specific drawing techniques, or to do something more open-ended (see below). After three 15-minute sessions at the stations, (45 minutes)
4. Short recess outside.
5. Masterwork: Do a piece of art that reflects what you have learned from all of these exercises. (30-45 minutes)
6. Cleanup
Station One: Information on Picasso
1. Leaf through the books on Picasso at this station.
2. Find a painting that you really like.
...then, either
3. Copy all or part of the painting. Make several quick sketches first, then make a more careful copy.
... or...
4. Make a painting in a similar style to the one that you like.
2. Find a painting that you really like.
...then, either
3. Copy all or part of the painting. Make several quick sketches first, then make a more careful copy.
... or...
4. Make a painting in a similar style to the one that you like.
Stations Two and Three: Review of Parts of the Face
Station Two combines Two and Three from last week. Station Three combines Four and Five from last week.
Station Four: Gertrude Stein or Girl Against Red Background
Use the prompts to draw these faces as Picasso saw them.
Station Five: Picasso or Man
Use the prompts to draw these faces in Picasso's style.