Picasso's self-portraits in chronological order. Picasso's self-portraits in chronological order and Picasso's "heirs"

If there were no photos, we would never know what the famous artist looked like! ">If there were no photographs, we would never know what the famous artist looked like!" alt="(!LANG:The evolution of Picasso's self-portraits from 15 to 90 years old If there were no photos, we would never know what the famous artist looked like!!}">

Self-portraits are always curious to look at - it is always interesting how distorting reality the mirror was at that moment in front of the artist's mind's eye. In the case of Picasso, the distortion is always squared. He painted enough of his self-portraits, but if there were no photographs of him, we would never know what he looked like.

Even his early, realistic self-portraits inspire suspicion. It seems that Picasso always, from the very beginning, was simply bored to write out all these similarities.

Doubling reality through painting is not his path. Somehow, in the late 30s, looking at photographs of Brassai, who was shooting a sculpture of Picasso in his Parisian studio, he said:

“When you see how much you can express through photography, you realize that it can no longer be the object of painting. Why would an artist try to depict what a photographic lens would perfectly immortalise? That would be crazy. Photography appeared just at the right moment to free painting from the description of the subject and from the subject itself. Now the subject is in the power of photography. And isn't it better for artists to take advantage of the freedom they have won and use it for something else?

And this "other" with a certain diligence, you can try to count from his self-portraits.

Painted in Barcelona while studying at the La Lonja School of Arts and Crafts

The work was done in Barcelona, ​​where Picasso returned after leaving his studies at the Art Academy of Madrid.

Written in the spring of 1901, for an exhibition organized at the Vollard Gallery in Paris

Written at the end of 1901, on Picasso's second visit to Paris

Picasso painted this self-portrait in the summer of 1906 in Gósol, a small village in the Spanish Pyrenees

This self-portrait was painted in Paris. This period, which is characterized by coarsening and primitivization of form, is called Cezanne (due to the influence of Cezanne's method on Picasso), as well as African (due to the fact that Picasso was impressed by the art of ancient African masks)

Self-portrait painted in Paris

The drawing was made in Paris, after returning from Rome, where Picasso designed the performance "Parade" for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes

One of the rare self-portraits of Picasso, in the middle of his life he almost did not write them, in contrast to his early years and the very late period of creativity. The attire of the character allows this work to be attributed to self-portraits - striped sweaters were a characteristic detail of Picasso's wardrobe. The picture was painted in Paris

Picasso captured himself in his legendary vest, widely known from numerous photographs taken in the late period of the artist's life. Self-portrait painted in Mougins at Picasso's Villa Notre Dame de Vie, April 3-4, 1965

Do not immediately blame the artist that he was a drug addict or maybe a schizophrenic

A small history course, how his lifestyle directly affected his work:

There are several most important periods:

"Blue Period"

Absinthe drinker, 1901

Perhaps the first stage in the work of Picasso, in relation to which we can talk about the individuality of the master, despite the still sounding notes of influences. The first creative takeoff was provoked by a long depression: in February 1901 in Madrid, Picasso learned about the death of his close friend Carlos Casagemas. On May 5, 1901, the artist came to Paris for the second time in his life, where everything reminded him of Casagemas, with whom he had recently discovered the French capital. Pablo settled in the room where Carlos spent his last days, started an affair with Germain, because of which a friend committed suicide, communicated with the same circle of people. One can imagine what a complex knot the bitterness of loss, a sense of guilt, a sense of the nearness of death were intertwined for him ...

"African" period

The first work that turned Picasso's brushes towards a new figurativeness was the portrait of Gertrude Stein in 1906. After rewriting it about 80 times, the artist despaired of translating the writer into a classical style. The artist was clearly ripe for a new creative period, and following nature ceased to interest him. This canvas can be considered the first step towards the deformation of the form.

Cubism

Violin and guitar, 1913

Before cubism in European art, one of the main problems has always been the problem of lifelikeness. For several centuries, art has evolved without questioning this task. Even the Impressionists, who opened a new chapter in the history of painting devoted to light, fixing a fleeting impression, also solved the question: how to capture this world on canvas.

The impetus for the development of a new language of art, perhaps, was the question: why paint? By the beginning of the XX century. the basics of "correct" drawing could be taught to almost anyone.

Picasso's idea is extremely simple: in the arsenal of painting there are only its own specific means - the plane of the canvas, line, color, light, and it is absolutely not necessary to put them at the service of nature. The external world only gives impetus to the expression of the individuality of the creator. The rejection of a plausible imitation of the objective world opened up incredibly wide opportunities for artists.

"Classic" period

Bathers, 1918

The 1910s turned out to be quite difficult for Picasso. In 1911, a story surfaced with the purchase and storage of figurines stolen from the Louvre, which demonstrated to Picasso the limitations of his own moral, human strength: he turned out to be unable to directly resist the pressure of power, and to maintain loyalty to friendship (during the first interrogation, he tried to renounce even the very fact acquaintance with Appolinaire, "thanks" to whom he was involved in this unpleasant incident). In 1914, the First World War began and it turned out that Picasso was not ready to fight for France, which became his second home. This also separated him from many friends. Marcel Humbert died in 1915.

Probably, it was during this period that Picasso really understood himself (and his discoveries were not always pleasant) and realized that he was, by and large, only interested in painting, only he was ready to make sacrifices to her, only to serve her: "Art never gets bored me, and I could not live without giving him all my time. I love him as the sole purpose of my life."

Cubism gradually became for Picasso an already internally experienced experience that liberated his brush. Later he said: “If you think about it, I’m probably an artist without style. “Style” often only fetters the artist, imposes on him one point of view on things, the same techniques, the same formulas, and so year after year, sometimes for life." This, of course, was not the case of Picasso, a desperate daredevil in art.

Surrealism

Woman in an armchair, 1927

When the young blonde Maria Teresa Walter entered the life of the artist, the painter turned towards surrealism. He was also prepared by communication with the surrealists who were gaining strength at that time. Two factors: the “interesting face” of Mademoiselle Walter, which the artist set fire to paint, immediately informing a new acquaintance that “we will do great things together,” and proximity to the circle of Henri Breton worked simultaneously. It was in the Pierre Gallery in 1925 that Picasso first took part in a group exhibition of the surrealists (before that, he "shone" only in personal expositions).

Picasso's seven-year wanderings in the wilds of surrealism can be summed up in his own words: "I depict objects as I think about them, and not as I see them."

Generally speaking, any picture of an artist is a self-portrait, in the sense in which a writer can be recognized from any of his creations. But still, self-portraits as such are always curious to look at - it is always interesting how distorting reality the mirror stood at that moment in front of the mind's eye of the artist.

In case of Picasso distortion is always squared. He painted enough of his self-portraits, but if there were no photographs of him, we would never know what he looked like. Even early, realistic, and then inspire suspicion. It seems that he was always, from the very beginning, simply bored to write down all these similarities; doubling reality through painting is not his path.

Somehow, in the late 30s, looking at photographs Brassai, who photographed a sculpture of Picasso in his Parisian studio, he said: “When you see how much you can express through photography, you realize that it can no longer be the object of painting. Why would an artist try to depict what a photographic lens would perfectly immortalise? That would be crazy. Photography appeared just at the right moment to free painting from the description of the subject and from the subject itself. The item is now in power Photo. And isn't it better for artists to take advantage of the freedom they have won and use it for something else? And this "other" with a certain diligence, you can try to count from his self-portraits.