Pablo Picasso is one of my favourite artists. Born in 1881, Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter who spent most of his time living in France. Primarily noted for his cubist art, Pablo Picasso painted many of the women in his life. Below are nine of his portraits presented in chronological order.
Fernande Olivier - Woman with Pears, 1909:
Above is Pablo Picasso's portrait of his first love, Fernande Olivier, painted in cubist style. She was left almost destitute after their relationship ended.
Olga Khoklova - Olga in an Armchair, 1918:
Above and below are three of Picasso's portraits of his first wife, the Ukrainian ballerina Olga Khokhlova. The first, above, was painted in good times at the start of their relationship, and the second and third, below, were painted in very bad times towards the end of their relationship. On learning of Pablo Picasso's long standing affair, and possibly of his frequent visits to the brothels of Paris, Olga Khoklova became seriously ill and experienced a nervous breakdown. Though she filed for divorce, Pablo Picasso refused to split his property evenly with her as required by French law and so Olga Khoklova remained married to him until her death in 1935.
Olga Khoklova - Woman in an Armchair, 1929:
Michael Cary, a curator at New York's Gagosian art gallery, once said of Pablo Picasso: "The way that Picasso depicts a woman over the course of their relationship changes. When you look at the portraits of Olga, she starts off as the beautiful wife and by the end of their relationship, she's depicted as a hag and a monster and it's hard to see love in their relationship in the work."
Olga Khoklova - The Woman with a Stiletto, 1931:
John Richardson wrote that "work, sex and tobacco" were Pablo Picasso's addictions in his biography of the artist. Marina Picasso, Pablo Picasso's granddaughter, wrote of the artist in her memoir: "He submitted them to his animal sexuality, tamed them, bewitched them, ingested them, and crushed them onto his canvas. After he had spent many nights extracting their essence, once they were bled dry, he would dispose of them."
Marie-Thèrése Walter - Le Rêve, 1932:
Above is the then and perhaps still now shocking portrait painted by Pablo Picasso of his then muse and mistress, Marie-Thèrése Walter. They met in 1927, she was then a 17-year old schoolgirl and 30 years younger than Pablo Picasso. After the artist died, Marie-Thèrése Walter committed suicide unable to live without him even though Pablo Picasso had long moved onto a new woman.
Dora Maar - The Weeping Woman, 1937:
Pablo Picasso's next muse and mistress was the French photographer, Dora Maar. Their relationship flourished in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Dora Maar greatly assisted Pablo Picasso in his famous painting of Guernica in 1937. After their relationship fizzled out, she struggled with depression. Above and below are two Picasso portraits of Dora Maar.
Dora Maar - Dora Maar in an Armchair, 1939:
Below is a portrait of Pablo Picasso's next lover, Françoise Gilot. It's reported that Pablo Picasso had told Françoise Gilot, an established artist in her own right, that "women are machines for suffering" and that "there are only two kinds of women, goddesses and doormats."
Françoise Gilot - Femme Assise en Costume Vert, 1953:
Do you like any of Pablo Picasso's art?
Does Pablo Picasso's past affect your appreciation of his artwork?
Who are your favourite artists?
Below is a portrait of Pablo Picasso's second wife, Jacqueline Roque, almost walking like an Egyptian! She prevented the two children the artist had with Françoise Gilot from attending his funeral after his death in 1973. Jacqueline Roque later shot herself dead still devastated and lonely after Pablo Picasso's death.
It's impossible to detach the life of an artist from their art, including an appreciation of their art. Often an understanding of the artist's life makes their artwork more intriguing. Though Pablo Picasso, in the words of the art critic Louisa Buck, "left a trail of female carnage in his wake", his artwork is still very interesting in my book. I try hard to understand without judging the artist when looking at their art. However, occasionally a line has to be drawn. For example, I will not seek out the artwork of Rolf Harris, a convicted paedophile, not that I very much liked his art before he was convicted. Queen Elizabeth II commissioned the now deceased Australian artist to paint a birthday portrait of her and also honoured him for his services!
Other artists I like include Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh, Lucian Freud, Mark Rothko, Terry Rodgers, Malika Favre and Banksy. As you can tell from my list of favourite artists, I have an eclectic taste, though some would say a contrary taste in art.
Jacqueline Roque - Jacqueline with Flowers, 1954:
30 comments
I am not fond of Picasso's art. I guess I don't understand it.
Why did his women get so attached? Great lover? Long schlong? It was a pattern.
My favorite artists draw horses, LOL.
I'm mostly not a fan of cubism, although I think it works if the topic of the painting is horrific or disordered (I'm thinking Guernica - I do acknowledge that is a masterpiece).
How sad that so many of his women continued to be obsessed with him even after the way he treated them. He must have had quite a magnetic personality. I'm sure most of us can think of at least one lover who we had trouble "quitting" even though we knew they were toxic in some way.
It's funny, I enjoy art but wouldn't really say I have favorite artists. Wait, I'm going to say Kehinde Wiley. I visit this work every time I'm at the Minneapolis Institue of Arts:
Can't say I'm a fan of Picasso's art, or really any abstract art. It just doesn't speak to me the way painters like Albert Bierstadt or NC Wyeth do.
I recall going to the Dali museum in Florida. Not a fan of his surrealism, I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful his early landscapes were. The only Picasso work I have seen has been from his cubism period....which all look like they were done by a 5 year old. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of his. I've been to 2 Van Gogh exhibits. It was interesting to learn that he had a vision impairment which made it difficult for him to discern shades of color. That made me much more tolerant of his use of mustard yellow.
I greatly respect Picasso's art, he was undoubtedly a great painter and especially a draftsman in my opinion. But his art doesn't attract me, I don't like it, it's probably because I don't understand it; Simply put: I would never have a reproduction of a Picasso hanging on the wall of my living room (if it were an original, yes! of course ). On the other hand, it has always been known that his behavior with women was despicable, frankly I don't like his personality in the least (I go by what I have read and what I have been told). My favorite artist is undoubtedly Leonardo, probably because he was the favorite of an artist friend of mine. Then I have many other favorite artists, I have very eclectic tastes but I don't like abstract art.
Great fun reading the text and viewing his works.
I always enjoy your art classes Smarty.
I was going to write "Olga Khoklova didn't age well did she! Just look what happened between 1918 and 1929!!! " But then I read what you wrote underneath, and I see that this may indeed have been how Picasso saw her. Sad. But whatever the truth of his treatment of women, some of the portraits are stunning, and in my view, whilst not condoning that, his art is deservedly what he is remembered for.
I think the paintings of Jaquline Roche and Marie-Therese Walter are stunning. Maybe as you say, the knowledge of how he treated them, as well as what became of them, adds to the images we now see.
By the way, I had not heard Olga's name before, and I am tempted to ask if you made that up? "Olga Cocklover" ???? Lol.
@spunkycumfun OMG - I read the whole of this blog thinking it was written by Smarty! I am so sorry Spunky, I didn't realise it was you until you replied to my comment, I can't have been paying enough attention!
On the other hand if I had realised it was you, I would have been certain you made up that name!
@spunkycumfun And now she's giving us both hugs, what a serendipitous mistake!
While I have a basic appreciation for art, I don't go out of my way to visit museums. I never caught the name of the artist, but I did come across a painting that I liked hanging in a museum when I went to the Sukajan exhibit back in December.
@spunkycumfun
Art class was an easy credit.
Do you like any of Pablo Picasso's art?
Yes.
Does Pablo Picasso's past affect your appreciation of his artwork?
It does. His work is inspired and he was a colossal asshole. I think you have to separate the artist from his work to a certain extent- many geniuses are self absorbed sociopaths. When you muse on the cruelty of the artist reflected in his work you have to remind yourself that he's holding up a mirror to humanity.
Who are your favourite artists?
I'm fond of Gustav Klimt and Edward Hopper, who were very different artists. It'd be hard to narrow it down to just one or two though. I like Georgia O'Keeffe quite a lot. Pam and I visited the Georgia O'Keeffe museum in Santa Fe a couple of years ago. It was wonderful! This drawing from 1915-16 is unimpressive in a print or photo but it's exquisite seen in person, hanging on the wall in front of you. You can feel the texture of the textiles.
He definitely has some interesting art here. I have
never been into the art world so to speak.
I hope your enjoying your Sunday..
There is little doubt about what Picasso was thinking about these women when he depicted them. 😂
Do you like any of Pablo Picasso's art? - Most of them are a bit too abstract for my taste. Olga in an Armchair would be my favorite of the one you depict.
Does Pablo Picasso's past affect your appreciation of his artwork? - No.
Who are your favorite artists? - Probably Georgia O'Keeffe, either of the Wyeths, and some of the Hudson River School artists.
I enjoy different art and styles by many of the artists you mentioned. I never really delved much into the women in their lives. Picasso may had been talented in his creative way of painting what he saw and felt in his mind's eye. But the mother fucker was terrible to the women in his life. I am sure they had good times as well, but for the relationship to end the way they did indicates to me he was a complicated man. It is up to me to inquire more about him and what his inspirations were in his creativity. Thanks
@spunkycumfun On another point, After moving to Chicago back in 2010, I went exploring the downtown area and a Florida buddy of mine. There I was walking around, admiring the architecture and chatting with my friend and I then realize I am walking right in front of the Chicago Picasso statue.
Now mind you, I felt a sense of delight come over me that buy the sound of my voice I was extremely pleased. You see growing up in Florida I had watched a favorite movie of mine, The Blues Brothers. That scene towards the end of the movie when Jake and Elwood Blues run across Daly Plaza in front of the Chicago Picasso, and then realizing that I am standing right there. That made my day.
The whole time I was galivanting around downtown Chicago, it really didn't dawn on me where exactly I was in the city, or where I was going. My friend and I were simply taking in the sights. So unexpecting of me, I am at a place that I have seen and enjoyed watching in the movies and was now standing before it. As I said before, it truly made my day.
@spunkycumfun A little wind never hurt anyone unless you are a small boat with the wind in your sails heading towards the edge of a waterfall.
@spunkycumfun And there isn't any near Lake Michigan