Click here to see more of Pablo Picasso' Work

Pablo Picasso, born in Malaga, 1881, was probably the most famous artist of the twentieth century. During his artistic career, which lasted more than 75 years, he created thousands of works, not only paintings but also sculptures, prints, and ceramics, using all kinds of materials.

He almost single-handedly created modern art.He changed art more profoundly than any other artist of this century. Even artists not influenced by the style or appearance of his work had to come to terms with its implications.

First famous for his pioneering role in Cubism, Picasso continued to develop his art with a pace and vitality comparable to the accelerated technological and cultural changes of the twentieth century. Each change embodied a radical new idea.

The years of 1901 to 1904 were known as the "blue period" because of the blue tonality of Picasso's paintings. 1905 and 1906 marked a radical change in color and mood for Picasso. He became fascinated with the acrobats, clowns and wandering families of the circus world. He started to paint in subtle pinks and grays, often highlighted with brighter tones. This was known as his "rose period."

In 1907, Picasso painted "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," considered the pivotal painting of the twentieth century, and met Georges Braque, the other leading figure of the Cubist movement. Cubism was equally the creation of Picasso and Braque. In late April of 1937, the world learned the shocking news of the bombing of the civilian target of Guernica, Spain by the Nazi Luftwaffe. Picasso responded with his great anti-war painting, "Guernica."

During World War II, Picasso lived in Paris, where he turned his energy to the art of ceramics. From 1947 to 1950, he pursued new methods of lithography. Pablo Picasso died on April 8, 1973 in Mougins, France at the age of 91. “Everyone wants to understand painting. Why don’t they try to understand the singing of birds? People love the night, a flower, everything which surrounds them without trying to understand them. But painting – that they must understand.” Pablo Picasso, interview in Cahiers d’Art, 1935.