Picasso's Legacy.

Influences, Styles, and Periods: What Picasso Left to the World Pablo Picasso said, “There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality” (“Pablo Picasso Quotes”). This quotation interprets the true essence of abstract painting. What’s more, it reflects that Pablo Picasso did not only think about how to create a painting, but also thought about how to paint with inspiration from life and nature. As an abstractionist, Picasso’s works are not accepted by some artists and critics.

However, his originality and skill have been praised for a long time.

Money always tells the value of one’s painting. According to Bruno Dillen, one of Picasso’s paintings named Garcon a la Pipe, “depicting a Parisian boy holding a pipe in his left hand,” was bought at the price of $104. 1 million at Sotheby’s New York in 2004. More than that, his other two paintings named Dora Maar with Cat and Femme aux Bras Croises were sold at the prices of .

2 million and $55 million (“Top 10 Most”). Picasso’s paintings are considered the innovation and mainstay of abstract painting. Why is he so important to the development of abstract painting?

Apparently, it is his way of thinking and drawing that make it this. So, he felt that abstract paintings should be tied to reality. It is not enough to know these kinds of information about Picasso. So, let us go deeper and discover Picasso’s specialty, styles, influence on abstract painting, and the different periods of his career.

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A Great Artist: Innovative Ideas and Importance in Art History (Description) Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramist, who developed Cubism, one of the most influential modern painting styles.

He created thousands of paintings, prints, sculptures, and ceramics during his lifetime. For many people, Picasso is the greatest art genius of the twentieth century. For others, he is a gifted charlatan. Undisputed is the fact that he influenced and dominated the art of the twentieth century like no other modern artist (“Pablo Picasso”). Pablo Picasso thought that abstract painting should be tied to reality too. As he said, “Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth. ” His innovative idea challenged the raditional view that abstract painting has no meaning and has no relationship to the reality. Picasso’s work is often categorized into periods. While the names of many of his later periods are debated, the most commonly accepted periods in his work are the Blue period, the Rose period, the African-influenced period, Analytic Cubism, and Synthetic Cubism (“Pablo Picasso”). The most representative idea expressed by Picasso’s work is that the space in his work is done according to the “fourth dimension,” which is a higher dimension of space beyond immediate sensory perception (Claytion).

Picasso was really a great artist and he made landmark contributions to the history of art. Abstract Painting: Nonobjective and Break Through Nontraditional Notion (Definition) According to “About. com,” “Abstract art is style of painting where color and form (and sometimes the materials and support) make up the subject of the painting rather than it representing tangible objects or people” (“Art Glossary”). An abstract painting is one in which the subject is simplified or reduced to its essential forms, but where the viewer can “interpret” it as having been derived from something “real. As Wassily Kandinsky, a famous artist says, “Of all the arts, abstract painting is the most difficult; it demands that you know how to draw well, then you have a heightened sensitivity for composition and for colors, and that you become a true poet. This last is essential” (qtd. in “Abstract Art”). In Western art history, the break from the notion that a painting had to represent something happened in the early 20th century (Marion Boddy-Evans). Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, and other art movements of the time all contributed by breaking the “rules” of art followed since the Renaissance (Boddy-Evans).

From all of these, the idea developed that color, line, form, and texture could be the “subject” of the painting. For example, generally classified with abstract art are figurative abstractions and paintings which represent things that aren’t visual, such an emotion, sound, or spiritual experience. Such kind of painting is nonobjective and expresses the nature of abstract painting. ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————-

Appreciate Abstract Painting: Understanding the Basic Purpose and Context (Process) As abstract painting doesn’t present some real objects from our life, people often can’t understand the painting when they look at it, so how can we appreciate abstract painting in the right way? Firstly, we need to understand the basic purpose of how abstract art works. In some cases, the design itself might be pleasing to the eye, and we might look upon the painting as nothing more than a decoration (Harley Hahn). Most of the time, however, this is not the case. Indeed, a great deal of abstract art is not particularly pleasing to the eye.

Moreover, abstract art is supposed to make you, the viewer, think of things outside of their usual contexts and dissolve everyday associations and meanings to make new connections, feel new emotions, or to consider new perceptions (Shanel). Also, to truly appreciate a work of art, you need to see it as more than a single, isolated creation: there must be context. This is because art is not timeless. Every painting is created within a particular environment, and if you do not understand that environment, you will never be able to appreciate what the artist has to offer you.

This is why, when you study the work of a particular artist, it makes sense to learn something about his life purpose and the culture context in which he lived. So, based on these two prerequisites, you will be on the way to become an expert in appreciating abstract painting. Styles and Experience: Painting Styles Change Through Out an Artist’s Life (Cause/Effect) Generally, an artist’s life can be divided in to several periods because of life experiences. As we know, Picasso’s art career was divided into several periods, including Blue, Rose, and Cubism.

His Blue Period is characterized by the use of different shades of blue, underlining the melancholic style of his subjects — people from the grim side of life with thin, half-starved bodies. During the Rose Period, his style moved away from the Blue Period to a friendly pink tone with subjects taken from the world of the circus. In Cubism, several views of an object or a person are shown simultaneously from a different perspective in one picture (“Pablo Picasso”). From this we can see that Picasso’s painting style changed a lot through his life.

So, what resulted in these changes? It was the life experience that gave him different feelings to create different styles of works. For example, Picasso’s Blue Period was influenced by a trip through Spain and by the suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas. Also, he started the Rose Period when he fell in love with his girlfriend, and he was affected by the sweet romance (“Pablo Picasso”). So, life experiences have a big effect on the styles of an artist’s work. Talent and Wealth: Picasso vs. van Gogh (Comparison/Contrast)

Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh had a lot in common, for example, they are both geniuses; at the same time, they have some huge differences, for example, Picasso was rich, but van Gogh was poor. First, as we all know, these two artists are geniuses. Alden M. Hayashi writes, “They each had a distinctive style of painting that has become immediately identifiable” (“Why Picasso Outearned van Gogh”). As mentioned above, one of Picasso’s paintings was sold at the price of $104. 1 million. Similarly, one of van Gogh’s paintings was also bought at the price of $82. million (“Top 10 Most Expensive Paintings Ever”). What made Picasso and van Gogh different? Picasso is the representative of Cubism and Abstractionism; however, van Gogh is an impressionist. They chose their different ways of expressing what they drew. Another difference between Picasso and van Gogh is that van Gogh “died a pauper” while Picasso “left an estate estimated at $750 million” (“Why Picasso Outearned”). According to Gregory Berns, the reason is that van Gogh preferred staying alone, but Picasso was good at communication (qtd. in “Why Picasso Outearned van Gogh”, para 1).

In other words, van Gogh did not know how to “promote” himself (“Making money”). “His relationship with his art was an inner struggle and he did not envision his importance to other people” (“Making money with your work”). Pablo Picasso chose his mother’s surname—Picasso, and did not choose his father’s surname—Ruiz—because he did not want his name to be too common (“Making money”). This kind of being special works. It was Picasso’s and van Gogh’s values that made them different in wealth, but it was their genius talent that made them similar. Abstracted” and “Pure”: Two Types of Abstract Paintings (Division/Classification) According to Harley Hahn, broadly speaking, there are two types of abstract paintings: “abstracted” paintings and “pure” paintings. The first type depicts objects which are “abstracted” from nature (“Understanding abstract art”). As abstract paintings are different from other representational paintings, abstract paintings are difficult to understand. When you look at an abstract painting the first time, maybe you cannot understand what it expresses. In other words, maybe you do not know what it actually means.

However, when you keep looking at it for a while, you may suddenly find that you get the idea of the painting. Every artist has his or her own special skill in different types of abstract painting. Claude Monet is good at “abstracted” paintings. According to Harley Hahn, “Water Lilies (The Clouds)” painted by Monet depicts the garden in Monet’s house in Giverny, Normandy (in France). You can “feel” the clouds even though the objects in the painting do not look like clouds (“Understanding abstract art”). This is the magic of abstract painting. The second type is termed “pure” abstraction (“Understanding abstract art”).

There are no people, plants, or scenery in these paintings. There are only some lines, colors, and shapes in them. Here comes the question. Why do artists create such paintings? It is for fun? No. Maybe they want to transfer some information, for example, their emotions and their understanding of life. The best way to know the answer is to learn how to appreciate abstract paintings. Both natural objects and “pure” abstraction paintings were perfected by Picasso, so his would be good to study. Conclusion Pablo Picasso represents abstract painting, and we have known Picasso’s pecialty, styles, influence on abstract painting, and the different periods of his career. The paintings he left to the world still have an influence today, and they help other artists know about Abstractionism. His idea of tying abstract paintings to reality is an innovation, which makes him one of the most excellent artists in history. The different periods of his art career appeared because of his life experiences. When appreciating his paintings, people should try to connect paintings with reality and be imaginative. What’s more, knowing about the environment in which a painting is created is very important.

Maybe in the short run, there will be no artists who can surpass Picasso in the field of abstract painting. Picasso is like a high mountain; if an artist wants to get to the top and plant a flag, he or she needs to experience what Picasso experienced. Talent is not enough. Maybe, self-promotion is also important.

Works Cited “Art Glossary: Abstract. ” About. com. About. com. 2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. Boddy-Evans, Marion. “Abstract Art. ”. About. com. About. com. 2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. Dillen, Bruno. “Top 10 Most Expensive Paintings Ever. ” Chiff. com. Chiff. com. June 2008. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. Funk, Clayton. Contemporary Art Culture. 2nd Edition. Kendall Hunt. 2007. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. Hahn, Harley. “Understanding Abstract Art. ” Harley Hahn art center. 2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. Hayashi, Alden. “Why Picasso Outearned van Gogh. ” MITSloan. 1 Oct. 2008. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. “Making money with your work: The Picasso Vs the Van Gogh method. ” Zo’C. 29 Nov. 2007. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. “Pablo Picasso Quotes. ” BrainyQuote. Brainy Media. com, 2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. Shanel. “How to Appreciate Abstract Art”. Hubpage . 2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2010.