Pablo Picasso is among the most renowned artists in the world.
This impressive creator was producing incredible works from a young age, up until his passing.
Some of his paintings are certainly very bizarre and abstract, which sets him apart from everyone else who tries to wield a paintbrush.
Take a look at these 30 phenomenal facts about this illustrious painter!
This famous painter was born on October 25, 1881, in Malaga, Spain.
While most refer to him just as Picasso, his full name was actually 23 words: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso. These names all come from a list of saints and relatives.
When Picasso was born, he was so small that the nurse thought he was stillborn and left him to take care of his mother. Luckily, his uncle ended up noticing and saved him from dying.
Fittingly enough, Picasso’s first word was “lapis” which is Spanish for pencil.
His father, also being an artist, started teaching Picasso art when he was seven years old.
When he was nine years old, Picasso completed his first painting. It was titled “Le Picador” and the composition is a man riding a horse into a bullfight.
When Picasso was 13 years old, his father quit painting because he thought his son was already a better painter than himself.
Picasso was accepted to the School of Fine Arts at 13, where he completed his entrance exams in just one week – a feat which took most students one month.
This artist achieved a lot while he was 13. It was at this age that Picasso also had his first exhibition in the back of an umbrella shop.
One of his better-known portraits titled “First Communion,” was done when Picasso was only 15 years old.
As a teen, his younger sister who was seven passed away due to diphtheria. After this, he and his family moved to Barcelona.
The first job Picasso ever had was working for an art dealer named Pere Menach.
Picasso was known for being quite the ladies’ man – he had four children by three women, and was married twice.
On top of this, he had many mistresses. His requirement for them was that they had to be submissive, and they had to be shorter than he was – he stood at just 5 feet, 4 inches.
Picasso is regarded as the inventor of the modern art movement known as Cubism, which is a style that reduces subjects to geometric forms.
Along with painting, Picasso was also a sculptor, ceramicist, stage designer, poet, playwright, and print write.
Apparently, Picasso would tend to carry around a pistol that he loaded with blanks. He would use it to fire at people that he thought were boring, or anyone who insulted Cézanne, who was a French artist and impressionist.
While Germany was occupying Paris in World War ll, Picasso’s paintings were banned by the Nazis because they thought they didn’t follow the rules of art.
Pablo Picasso was a communist.
More of Picasso’s paintings have been stolen over any other artist.
Impressively enough, Picasso holds a world record for the most pieces of art created by one person. Over 78 years, he produced over 13,500 paintings or designs, 100,000 prints or engravings, 34,000 book illustrations, and 300 sculptures or ceramics. This brings the grand total to over 147,800 pieces of art.
That’s not the only record he’s set – the most expensive painting ever sold was Picasso’s “Women of Algiers” piece which sold in 2015 for $179.3 million dollars!
Interestingly enough, Picasso loved pets! During his lifetime, he owned a mouse, turtle, monkey, and a few cats and dogs.
Picasso’s final words were “Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can’t drink anymore.”
When Picasso died, he was the richest artist in history.
Picasso died on April 8, 1973, in Mougins, France due to pulmonary edema and heart failure.
Picasso didn’t have a will, so when he died, his estate tax was paid to the French in the form of his paintings.
After Picasso died, his wife, Jacqueline Roqe, was so devastated and lonely that she killed herself 13 years later by gunshot.
That’s not the only casualty of Picasso’s death – Jacqueline didn’t allow Picasso’s grandson, Claude, to go to the funeral due to an argument over the distribution of Picasso’s estate. Because of this, Claude drank a bottle of bleach but it took three months for him to die.
One of Picasso’s most famous quotes is “Art is the lie that allows us to understand the truth.”
