Picasso, Pablo (1881-1973) - 1907 Les Demoiselles d' Avignon (Museum of Modern Art, New York City)

Picasso, Pablo (1881-1973) - 1907 Les Demoiselles d' Avignon (Museum of Modern Art, New York City)
Originally uploaded by RasMarley

Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor:
among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937), his portrayal of the German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.

This 1907 masterpiece by Picasso is the first great piece of cubist art. The influence of African masks is obvious, especially in the two figures on the right.

Notes from Wikipedia -

- Picasso was married twice and had four children by three women. He had a never-ending series of lovers - ex. Dora Maar - in addition to wives and principal mistresses.

-He was publicly a Communist - from the late 1940's. Yet one would argue that he was apolitical: he remained neutral during World War I, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II, refusing to fight for any side or country.

- During the Second World War, Picasso remained in Paris while the Germans occupied the city.

- After the war he became famous and wealthy (ex: the 1946 retrospective show at MoMa). He moved permanently to Provence, near the Med. The last 12 years he lived in the small town of Mougins, near the famous beach resort of Cannes.
- The climate is Mediterranean and the city enjoys 12 hours of sunshine per day during summer (May to September), while in winter (December to February) the weather is mild. Both seasons see a relatively low rainfall and most rain is during October and November, when 110 mm falls.
- Mougins has been frequented and inhabited by many artists and celebrities, including Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Fernand Léger, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, Yves Klein, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Winston Churchill, Catherine Deneuve, Édith Piaf.
- The region of Mougins - Provence - has been home to artists such as Henri Matisse,Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Auguste Renoir, Pierre Bonnard and Claude Monet.

Misogyny and machismo - hatred of women and exaggerated sense of maleness, were both part of the Spanish nature of Picasso.