Pablo Picasso is most widely known for his revolutionary style, experimentation with the abstract, and ventures into cubism. His sculptures and murals are studied world-wide, but less is known about his extensive drawings. Less still is known about his evolution as an artist, from talented art student copying classic paintings to avant-garde experimenter creating fresh styles of expression through art. Thus, I chose to study Pablo Picasso so as to explore his progression throughout his career. I find his classical training background and transition to the abstract fascinating, and find this change particularly highlighted in his drawings.
One of Picasso's first drawings was a figure drawing of Hercules, done at the age of 9. "I never did children's drawings. Not even when I was very small - never," Picasso commented to art critic Helene Parmelin. "In my father's home there was a Hercules with his club in the passage. So, I went into the passage and drew him. But that was no child's drawing. It was a fully-fledged drawing depicting Hercules holding his club" (Ocaña 1997).
HerculesP 59
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973. Picasso : The Development of a Genius, 1890-1904 : Drawings in the Museu Picasso of Barcelona. Eds. Museo Picasso. and Maria-Teresa Ocaña. Barcelona: Lunwerg Editores, 1997.
As a child, Picasso was encouraged by his father, José Ruiz Blasco, who was an artist himself. Picasso would draw everything around him, and his technique improved drastically as he ventured further into the art world.
At the age of 10, Picasso started formal art training in La Coruña where he copied classical drawings and models as part of his drawing exercises. The two drawings depicted below were done at the age of 11 during Picasso's first year of training. As you can see from the detail and shading, Picasso was attune to the subtle shadows cast by the plaster model, and even at such a young age, was capable of capturing a high sense of realism.
Studyp67
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973. Picasso : The Development of a Genius, 1890-1904 : Drawings in the Museu Picasso of Barcelona. Eds. Museo Picasso. and Maria-Teresa Ocaña. Barcelona: Lunwerg Editores, 1997.
In 1897-1898, Picasso spent his academic year in Madrid, and later traveled to Horta de Sant Joan and Barcelona. During this period of time, Picasso first started to express his desire for modernity, and a departure from his more structured, academic art background. Through his time in Paris in 1900, Picasso came into further contact with avant-garde movements, and his own work started to significantly change upon his return.
Although, Picasso started to incorporate more of his own personal style and expression, his attention to detail did not change. In the following drawing, Picasso incorporated his own expressive device through the exaggeration of proportions in the mother's neck and shoulders - a deviance from his classical training. As evidenced by his repeated attempts to render the mother's right hand, his determination to perfect the life-like appearance of his subject had not left. Both mother and child exhibit elegant, curved lines, with sweeping strokes outlining the less defined areas of the drawing.
Mother and Child and Four Studies of Her Right HandP55
Tinterow, Gary. Master Drawings by Picasso. Eds. Art Institute of Chicago., et al. New York; Cambridge, Mass.: G. Braziller; Fogg Art Museum, 1981.
This next drawing was done in 1907, and is a classic example of Picasso's "Iberian" style. The figures resemble sculptures, rather than humans, with stylistic facial features and rounded body parts.
Two Nudes
Paris, early 1907
Charcoal on off-white laid paper
636 x 476 mm
P75
Tinterow, Gary. Master Drawings by Picasso. Eds. Art Institute of Chicago., et al. New York; Cambridge, Mass.: G. Braziller; Fogg Art Museum, 1981.
As seen by the stark dissimilarity from his work as a classically trained art student, this work shows his exploration of more stylistic and less realistic drawing. However, it is still vastly more realistic than the next drawing shown, which was done in 1910. In Standing Female Nude, Picasso embraces cubism, and expresses the essence of a standing female model through the arrangement of lines, arcs, and their convergences. The harmonious geometry gives the form beatufy, while shading of the charcoal provides texture in the relatively simple outline.
Standing Female Nude
Paris, autumn 1910
Charcoal on white wove paper
483 x 312 mm
P107
Tinterow, Gary. Master Drawings by Picasso. Eds. Art Institute of Chicago., et al. New York; Cambridge, Mass.: G. Braziller; Fogg Art Museum, 1981.
Even simpler is the next drawing by Picasso. In this work, Picasso employs only 4 lines throughout the whole drawing, yet captures all of the aspects he wished. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Picasso removed extraneous detail and weight from his drawings and prints, preferring to exhibit simple line drawings.
Nude
Paris or Boisgeloup, summer-fall 1931
Graphite on cream wove paper
257 x 330 mm
P173
Tinterow, Gary. Master Drawings by Picasso. Eds. Art Institute of Chicago., et al. New York; Cambridge, Mass.: G. Braziller; Fogg Art Museum, 1981.
As you can see from the various drawings above, Picasso's drawing traversed through a huge variety of styles and influences. Study of his sculptures and paintings provide further examples of his explorations of expression through art, but even through solely his drawings, Picasso's multitude of styles shines through.
Sources:
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973. Picasso : The Development of a Genius, 1890-1904 : Drawings in the Museu Picasso of Barcelona. Eds. Museo Picasso. and Maria-Teresa Ocaña. Barcelona: Lunwerg Editores, 1997.
Tinterow, Gary. Master Drawings by Picasso. Eds. Art Institute of Chicago., et al. New York; Cambridge, Mass.: G. Braziller; Fogg Art Museum, 1981.
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