According to the same website, by 1902, Picasso was a part of a literary group titled Valhalla but nick named "Guayaba" by the group. This group included Eugenio D'Ors whose most well known for writing on art and his collection of essays Glosari.
I wanted to bring this out to show that Picasso wasn't afraid of trying new things and this translated into his work later. He was a daring man who, I think, had one thing in mind. This was to make absolutely sure that he had no regrets because he didn't try something that he thought about trying. This is the definition of courage. Anyone can do what they are comfortable with but it takes a certain amount of fortitude and daring to decide to do what you might not know. He is quoted as saying the following,
“I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”1
As Picasso grows more comfortable in his own skin and surrounded himself with great artists, his work becomes more marked and improved. His development of style becomes apparent starting in 1901, with the Blue Period. 1905 is known as the Rose Period for Picasso. This period moves into his work Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), into the beginning of Cubism. The Analytic phase (ca. 1908-11), through its Synthetic phase (beginning in 1912-13) was the beginning of what Picasso became most well known for, according to most critics.4 This period is where one starts to see great works such as La mandoliniste assiseand The Guitarist There is a marked fascination with instruments in this period which is a natural flow into the period where he worked with ballet and theatrical production. After this, his work is characterized by neo-classicism and figurative work.4
The persistence of Picasso and his work ethic alone support my claim that he goes down in history as a hero of art. But, one doesn't have to believe me to consider an artist a hero. Let's look at some outside evidence. TIME magazines top 100 artists consider Pablo Picasso one of the greatest to ever live. I noticed that Picasso is the cover story two times in TIME magazine, February 13th, 1939 and May 26th, 1980.5 I wonder how many other people in history have graced the cover of TIME twice? TIME art critic Robert Hughes writes the following,
“Famous as no artist ever had been, he was a pioneer, a master and a protean monster, with a hand in every art movement of the century. . . No painter before him had had a mass audience in his own lifetime. . . No painter or sculptor, not even Michelangelo, had been as famous as this in his own lifetime. And it is quite possible that none ever will be again, now that the mandate to set forth social meaning, to articulate myth and generate widely memorable images has been so largely transferred from painting and sculpture to other media: photography, movies, television.”6
Are heroes perfect? I would say no. Pablo was not the greatest father to his children. He was a womanizer. He actually had no real respect for his wives. One infamous quote he made of “women being goddesses or doormats” is not the most appreciated quote in the history of mankind. There was really no nobility when it comes to defining his character. He was a staunch supporter of Stalin, which, many may not agree with in this day considering the horrors the Russian leader committed. Suffice it to say, his passions sometime found themselves spilling off of the canvas and into his personal life.
Yet, if we remove his person from the picture, his work is so powerful and cutting edge that he must be considered a hero or pioneer in the art world. Today, his art is sold at auctions for tens of millions of dollars. His work can be seen in cities around the world. And, after all, give me a hero you can think of and I will find plenty of flaws in him or her as well. Let's examine some contributions this unbalanced genius made to the art world and to Spain.
1914 signifies the beginning of the Surrealist Cubism art movement and Picasso is once again a pioneer of this movement. This around where Salvador Dali comes into the picture. Although one of his true loves Eva is very sick, he overcomes this trying time and continues to work. This is important to note because we must come to an understanding that it takes a certain strength to stay a hero after you become one and Picasso overcame many things, mostly himself, to become the artistic hero that he is today.
