Artistically Minded: The Touch of Picasso

"I wish to reach the point where the viewer cannot see how I painted my picture. What does it matter? My only wish is that nothing but emotion rises from my picture." Pablo Picasso

A Woman's Profile On a Red Back Ground
Oil on Canvas 1959
Bears strong resemblance to wife, Jacqueline.

I've never felt such a connection with an artist as I have with Picasso. His restlessness to create was fueled by his belief that if he stopped painting death would take him. There has never been another like him with such prolific work that is so within our reach. He died almost forty years ago on April 8th; the day I was born, and to this day he is still considered the most innovative painter and sculptor of the 20th century. His paintings come to life with the faces of those who were closest to him, friends, family and lovers. Through his visions he immortalized his subjects as they inspired each stroke of his brush.

"Picasso" by Felicie is one of the most beautifully written books I've encountered about any artists; possibly because Picasso himself hand his hand in it's creation as well. Without biographical references the book is purely about the his inspirations,

his art and of the unseen world through the eyes of a genius.

"Picasso" artfully

portrays a man who lived and breathed his love of creation.

Through the lens of friend and one of the only photographers privileged to enter his studio, Edward Quinn, a almost voyeuristic intrigue overcomes you. His photos are intoxicating images of precise moments of stimuli being absorbed and inspiring the future of his art work. From a moment in time to his translation onto canvas, the artist would be engulfed in that exchange of energy which some would never be able to comprehend or appreciate.

Slight and insignificant truths overwhelmed me when reading this book and seemingly cause this connection I feel. Picasso hand painted all the dishes that he ate off, his first sculptures were constructed with junk and garbage, he did a lot of his early work on just pieces of cardboard, his love of animals and insects as well as his love of the circus.

The Mountebanks
Oil on Canvas 1905

"My night is magnificent,I even prefer it to natural light. You should come and see it...this light which sets off every object, these deep shadows which circle the paintings..." For it is these dark and profound lines which I find most beautiful in all his shapely and most abstract work.

Les Femmes d'Alger
Oil on Canvas 1956
San Fransisco Modern Art Museum

Life
Oil on Canvas 1903
San Fransisco Modern Art Museum

Through color Picasso painted his own state of being. The "blue period" was in fact all painted in bluish tones and hues. This was influenced by the suicide of his friend for the love of a woman who Picasso in fact began an affair with after his friends death. He paints the male figures of his lost friend through out this time of melancholy and guilt. The "rose period"

with soft hues of pinks and reds was significant of a time of romance for Picasso.

Two of my favorite paintings are "The Dream" and "Portrait of Jaime Sabartes", however how can one be so naive as the pick a favorite and honestly I haven't see these beyond the pages of art books and reproductions. After a visit to The Stein Collection exhibit at the San Fransisco Modern Art Museum the feeling of actually seeing Picasso's work changed the whole perspective on his art. It's in front of you, the radiant colors, the texture of each stroke of his mood; sometimes soft and heartfelt and other times furious. There is a desire urging you to touch and the frustration that there are others around you who that you just wish would completely vanish. Alone with the peice so that you can be over come by the image Taking it in into yourself through your every pore; burning a imprint from his mind into yours and completely absorbing the artists touch onto the canvas as if he were touching your body himself. This is how I felt when I saw "Seated Nude" (not depicted for no photography was allowed in the exhibit).http://pablo-picasso.paintings.name/rose-period/ Never could I say I love one piece more than another for through out his career he has been a chameleon and shown the world how the effects of the surrounding world translates through the artists mind. Picasso radiates energy of life even after death; he is immortal.