Pablo Picasso - The Painter

Erik Painter

Studied Comparative History of Ideas (CHID) at University of Washington

As Picasso never painted or drew realistically in a way we can verify the work as his and his alone, would you agree in the absence of proof we dismiss the claims that he did?

The starting clause of this question is quite incorrect. Picasso did many years of realistic art. All his early work is realistic. The basic lack of knowledge of art history is something I find amazing here on Quora. There is also a group of people who write and comment here who have a naive idea that extreme realism is a mark of a “great artist”. This concept is simply from a lack of education.

Further, it is extremely easy to verify much of his artwork. He did not live centuries ago. He died in 1973. He lived his whole life in the age of photography and film. We have information from gallery owners, letters, friends, and journalists. We even have films of him painting.

It is not just that Picasso could “sort of draw” or “paint a little bit”, he was a prodigy. His father was an art instructor. He was accepted by La Llotja, the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Barcelona when he was 14. He was accepted because he was so good at realist art.

This is a study he did when at his father’s school he was about 12 or 13. It is a drawing of a plaster cast by Charles Bargue.

This painting is also from that time period. He was the age of a middle school student.

Here, he painted his sister when he was 13. It is clearly realist.

Here is his pastel of his mother dated 1896 when Picasso was 15, his mother was 41.

A self portrait at age 15

At age 16

“Science and Charity”, 1897

At age 19

“The Fairground Stall”

Here is his “Blue Period” in Paris when he was 22.

La Vie, 1903

The Soup

Here is from when he was 24.

1905, Garçon à la pipe,

His very famous portrait of Gertrude Stein the next year. The style where here face is mask-like was not a lack of skill. It was an expression of how he saw Stein’s inner being.

A self portrait at age 25.

Here he is painting at 26. He has started to play with cubism. However, it would be a childish error to think this style is related to a lack of skill. This is extremely hard to do.

At 29

Then in his 30s he returned to realism is a new manner. Here is at age 37.

Here is a drawing when he was 46

Here is when he was 50. He leaves realism again but his line is even more sure.

The Dream

This one was when he was 55

Mere et enfant (Marie-Therese Walter emmitouffle Maya) 1936

He was 65 when he drew this

Portrait de Françoise

1946

Here is a dove from when he was 68

Here is a drawing when he was 72

Portrait de Sylvette David 01

This was made at age 73. It is of his last girlfriend.

And this one was painted when he was 83. It is of the same woman, Jacqueline Roque

Jacqueline assise avec son chat

1964

As you can see he could and did work realistically when he wanted to throughout his life. However, that was not always his interest.

As for any other doubt you might have, he did not live so very long ago, we have photos, film, and written accounts of him painting.

Here is a discussion of his ever evolving ideas of how to see things in new ways, challenge viewers, innovate, and represent reality and ideas and myth.