Pablo Picasso

Picasso showed great talent as a draughtsman and aged just thirteen he was enrolled at art school. Later in life he went through several stylistic phases. Following his Blue and Rose Periods he moved on to produce the pivotal work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, a proto-cubist piece from which he moved in turn to create two-dimensional cubist works (analytical cubism) alongside Georges Braque. Both artists then began to use found objects to produce relief collages (synthetic cubism), which led to the creation of cubist sculpture. Picasso then returned to a more realist style and became involved to a degree with the Surrealists and produced works based upon mythology. In 1937 Picasso made Guernica, a piece made in response to the Nazi bombing of a Basque village during the Spanish Civil War; it is often described as the most important single work of the Twentieth Century.

Picasso is also famous for his much gossiped about personal life: he was one of the first art celebrities and enjoyed great wealth and renown in his lifetime. He had many lovers who generally became his artistic muses and can be identified in many of his works. His pieces sell for many millions and his art continues to inspire and awe today.