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Pablo Picasso - 49 Interesting Facts About His Life And Art



"When I was a child,
my mother said to me,
'If you become a soldier,
you'll be a general.
If you become a monk,
you'll end up as the pope.'
Instead I became a painter
and wound up as Picasso."
~Pablo Picasso



Picasso is fascinating and I thoroughly enjoyed gathering together forty-nine interesting facts about his life and art. Do you know how many pieces of art he created? If you don't already know the answer to that question, I think you will be blown away when you find out. Picasso's life definitely reflects his passion for living.



Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century


  • On October 25, 1881, Pablo Picasso was born.
  • Pablo Picasso was born as Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Crispiniano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso.
  • Picasso's name is a series of the names of saints and relatives.
  • Picasso was born in Spain in the city of Málaga in the Andalusian region.
  • Pablo Picasso was the first child of Don José Ruiz y Blasco and María Picasso y López.
  • Don José Ruiz, Pablo Picasso's father, was a painter who specialized in naturalistic depictions of birds and other game.
  • Picasso’s family was middle-class.



Art washes away from the soul
the dust of everyday life.
~Pablo Picasso



  • Picasso always had a passion for drawing and was skilled from a very early age.
  • Picasso's mother, María Picasso y López, said that his first words were “piz, piz” which was short for lápiz and that is the Spanish word for "pencil".
  • In 1890, Picasso received formal artistic training in figure drawing and oil painting. He became so preoccupied with his art that his school work suffered.
  • In 1895, when Picasso was seven years old, his sister, Conchita, died of diphtheria and it left him traumatized.



"Art is the lie that enables us
to realize the truth."
~Pablo Picasso



  • After his sister, Conchita's death, Picasso and his family moved to Barcelona. Picasso's father, Don José Ruiz took a position at its School of Fine Arts.
  • Picasso was accepted to the School of Fine Arts at age thirteen after taking completing his entrance exam in a week. The normal timing for this testing period was one month. Obviously, Pablo Picasso impressed the school officials.
  • At age sixteen, Picasso attended Madrid’s Royal Academy of San Fernando which he stopped attending shortly after enrolling because he did not like formal education.
  • Picasso made his first trip to Paris in 1900 which was considered the art capital of Europe.
  • Picasso learned to speak French.



I am always doing that which I cannot do,
in order that I may learn how to do it.
~Pablo Picasso



  • By the beginning of 1901, Picasso started signing his work and only signed his last name.
  • In 1904, Picasso met Fernande Olivier, a Bohemian artist who appears in many of Picasso's Rose period paintings and they became lovers.
  • In 1905, Picasso met Henri Matisse who was a lifelong friend and rival.
  • After Picasso acquired a bit of fame and fortune, he left his girlfriend, Fernande Olivier and entered a relationship with Marcelle Humbert.


Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, 1910


  • Marcelle Humbert was called Eva Gouel by Picasso and she was included in his Cubist works. Marcelle Humbert (Eva Gouel) died in 1915 at the age of thirty.
  • Picasso married a ballerina named Olga Khokhlova in 1918.
  • Picasso and Khokhlova had a son they named Paulo.
  • Picasso’s marriage to Khokhlova did not last long, but he did not divorce her because that would have meant she would obtain half of his wealth. When Khokhlova died in 1955, she was still legally married to Picasso.
  • In 1927, Picasso met 17-year-old Marie-Thérèse Walter and began a secret affair with her. With her, Picasso fathered a daughter with her, named Maya.
  • Picasso also wrote poetry. Between 1935 and 1959 Picasso wrote over 300 poems that were mostly untitled except for an occasional date and location of where it was written.



"Everything you can imagine is real."
~Pablo Picasso



  • In 1944, Picasso began a romantic relationship and lived with a girl who was 40 years younger - Françoise Gilot.
  • Picasso and Gilot had two children named Claude (1947) and Paloma (1949). She continued to hope that Picasso would marry her some day. However, after she had filed for divorce from her husband, PIcasso secretly married his second wife.
  • In 1951, Picasso had a an affair with Geneviève Laporte even though he was still married to Gilot. The shocking thing about the affair was that Laporte was 44 years younger than Picasso!



"Love is the greatest refreshment in life.
~Pablo Picasso



  • In 1961, Picasso married Jacqueline Roque and she was with him until his death.
  • Picasso is considered one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century. He was a painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer.
  • Pablo Picasso is widely known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture and the co-invention of collage.
  • In 1967, Picasso made a public sculpture in downtown Chicago call the Chicago Picasso. He donated it to the city of Chicago and would not accept payment. No one knows what the sculpture represents.



Chicago Picasso, a 50' high public Cubist sculpture



  • On April 8, 1973, Pablo Picasso died in Mougins, France.
  • Picasso's final words were “Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can’t drink any more.”
  • Picasso was interred at the Chateau of Vauvenargues on a property he had acquired in 1958.
  • Picasso had mistresses throughout his whole life even while he was married or living with someone.



"There are only two types of women
- goddesses and doormats."
~Pablo Picasso



  • Picasso was married twice and had four children by three women.
  • Four years after Picasso's death, his mistress, Marie-Thérèse hanged herself and his wife, Jacqueline Roque, shot herself in 1986.
  • Picasso’s work is divided into periods known as: the Blue Period (1901–1904), the Rose Period (1905–1907), the African-influenced Period (1908–1909), Analytic Cubism (1909–1912), and Synthetic Cubism (1912–1919).
  • Picasso’s Blue Period (1901–1904) are somber paintings mostly in shades of blue and blue-green colors.



The Old Guitarist, 1903 and Le Gourmet (The Greedy Child), 1901



  • Picasso's Rose Period (1904–1906) consist of happy orange and pink colors splashed on circus people, acrobats and harlequins which is the symbol by which he became known.



The Actor, 1904 and Garçon à la pipe, (Boy with a Pipe), 1905

Family of Saltimbanques, 1905



  • Picasso’s African-influenced Period (1907–1909) was inspired by African artifacts.



Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907



  • Pablo Picasso used monochrome brownish and neutral colors during his Analytic Cubism Period (1909–1912) which is when he took objects apart and analyzed their shapes.
  • Picasso made collages from cut paper fragments such as wallpaper and newspapers during his Synthetic Cubism Period (1912–1919).
  • One of Picasso’s most famous pieces is Guernca which is his depiction of the German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. When asked to explain this famous piece, Picasso said, “It isn’t up to the painter to define the symbols. Otherwise it would be better if he wrote them out in so many words! The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as they understand them."



Guernica, 1937



  • It is estimated that Picasso produced 50,000 pieces of art which include paintings, sculptures, ceramics, drawings, prints, tapestries and rugs.
  • Several paintings by Picasso rank among the most expensive paintings in the world. In US currency, Garçon à la pipe sold for $104 million in 2004; Dora Maar au Chat sold for $95.2 million in 2006; Nude, Green Leaves and Bust was sold at $106.5 million in 2010; the 1932 work, which depicts Marie-Thérèse Walter reclining and as a bust along with the rest of a personal collection was valued at over $150 million in 2010.
  • More of Picasso's paintings have been stolen than those of any other artist.



Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century



"Only put off until tomorrow
what you are willing to die
having left undone."
~Pablo Picasso




The Redhead Riter



The Fight With My KitchenAid Processor Blade


Cooking from scratch is something that I consider to be an enjoyable activity. Creating recipes, touching food, smelling ingredients and watching other people enjoy my dishes makes me happy. Dishes, pots, pans, flatware and appliances turn me on and I get quite excited over the littlest things that others totally ignore.

Of all the things in my kitchen, two of my most favorite small appliances are my KitchenAid stand mixer and KitchenAid food processor. No, I don't own stock in KitchenAid and I only WISH they would want to sponsor my blog!

Anyway, I got a burst of energy after getting home which led me to picking up stuff and cleaning. While I was in the kitchen putting away the dishes, I also noticed that my food processor blade wasn't put away. Rather than put it in the nice box that stores the blades, I decided to just plop it back into the processing bowl.

The KitchenAid processor blade is the sharpest thing I have in my kitchen. Since I definitely live up to my nickname, I have to be very careful with sharp objects. I know that "sharp" things are supposed to cause less cuts, but that simply is not true in my case.

This is the blade...



KitchenAid processor blade



Look closer.

Notice the tip of the blade.

The very tippy point on the blade is extremely sharp. I am always so careful when I am handling this blade because it just begs to injure me.

(At this point, you should insert the dun-dun-dun-dun of the music from the old Jaws movie. Can you hear it in your head now?)



KitchenAid processor blade closeup



The processing bowl is plenty big and the blade actually snaps into place quite easily. Once the blade is snuggled on the bottom of the processing bowl, I feel safe from my own antics.



KitchenAid processor blade in processing bowl



Wait a minute. Let's go back to the blade photo because I need to finish my story.

I'm at the point where I decided to just plop the KitchenAid blade back into the processing bowl. In my right hand, I hold the edge of the bowl with my four fingers on the outside and my thumb on the inside. Very carefully and slowly, I begin to slide the sharp blade into the bowl with my other hand, guided by the middle bowl support.

I was moving really slowly, however, I did not notice the location of the point of the blade and I was not looking at my fingers or thumb. I had almost decided to just PUSH it down when suddenly I felt pressure on my thumb nail.



another KitchenAid processor blade closeup



Glancing at my thumb, I realized that the sharp processor blade point is coming down on my nail. Instead of calmly pulling the blade back up, I panicked.

The hand holding the blade shook slightly and instead of pulling the blade directly up, I dropped it. The blade weighs quite a bit. So with the blade falling out of my left hand and my right hand trying to pull my thumb out of the bowl, the point of the blade went through the middle of the nail on my thumb.



KitchenAid processor blade scratches my nail



Oh my goodness it hurt and blood spurted out of the center of my thumbnail. Not only did that make me sick, but the feeling of the blade piercing my thumbnail just grossed me out. The sharp point on the processor blade "popped" through my nail.


Ewwwww!

I immediately ran my thumb under water and then I washed it over and over again.

Since I knew it would hurt later, I figured that I had better hurry and write my blog post. However, upon sitting down to type, I also discovered that my internet had gone down. Calling the customer service number for my internet provider only got me connected to India. Do you really think that the people in India know what is happening to my internet connection in Richmond, Virginia? (rolling my eyes) Oh please! They are reading off a script!

The Indian script reading customer service representative set up an appointment for a live person in the United States to visit on Thursday. Until then, I am told to keep checking to see if I can access the internet.

Obviously, I'm finally back online, but guess who has a thumb that is throbbing?

Yep! My thumb hurts. (laughing) Would that constitute me sharing a fact or is that whining?

The good news is that I got a bunch of chores finished and put away my food processor without further incident...

Well, kind of...

When I decided I would blog about my injury, I wanted to recreate "how" it happened in photos. So do you see the scratches on my nail in the last photo? That happened when I lost the grip on the blade when I was trying to take the photo and the the pointed end of it fell on my other thumbnail. It almost punctured that nail too, but I pulled my hand out of the way just in time.

Now you can understand why my KitchenAid processor blade is the only sharp knife I own.



The Redhead Riter



Fire, Ice, Passion And Indifference - Robert Frost Was A Master Poet





My favorite author is an American poet who died the same month and year that I was born. He was honored frequently during his lifetime and even received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. I even love his name because it makes me think of the cold winter months and the hope of snow.

Who is it?

It is none other than Robert Frost.

Fire and Ice
by Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

This poem brings to mind the question that continues to be discussed just as it was in times of old. Will the world end in fire or ice? With a very crisp and short discussion, the speaker in the poem decides that either one will do the trick.

However this poem also speaks of love's desire compared to hate. So if you think of the poem as the "world" being a "relationship" then it puts a little different meaning on it.

A relationship based on "fire" or "passion" without a foundation of love can quickly become consumed/end when the "thrill" is gone. The end result is the same for a bond that is cold as "ice" and filled with indifference or "hate". Obviously, having a successful relationship requires a balance of emotions and actions.

So take a quick reassessment: Do you have your "love" on "ice" too often?





Rockin' Friends Spotlight of the Week


Now, the time we have all been anxiously awaiting...This is the weekly post where I spotlight my Rockin' Friends who are the Top Nine active participants and loyal followers in my community where you will find THE BEST people in the world! If you want to be mentioned here next week, then all it takes is to come in and start chatting with everyone in my community.

Top 9 Rockin' Friends


With a big, heartfelt thank you for their participation and friendship, here are the Rockin' Friends this week in order of most participation.
I'm so glad that I've been able to become friends with these wonderful people who are so active in my community. I encourage you to add their blogs to your blogroll, but also come over and chat with us in my community.

For everyone mentioned in the top nine this week, feel free to grab the Rockin' Friend badge below and thank you for your participation!!

Rockin' Friend


Until next week...Kiss your family, hug your friends and don't forget to be the friend you would like to have around.

Woo Us To Your Blog

As always, attached is the weekly Linky to enter either the main URL to your site or add each post you publish throughout the week. You don't have to do anything special, just drop your link in and get a little extra exposure to your site.





The Redhead Riter



Nano Origami by Artist Anja Markiewicz - Tiny Folded Origami Paper Sculptures



German artist, Anja Markiewicz, manipulates paper into super tiny shapes such as a flower, pig, horse, swan, fish, cow and so much more. She has called it her nano origami because the finished pieces are extremely small - much smaller than regular origami.

Origami actually means "folding" (ori-) "paper" (-gami) and Markiewicz uses her hands and a toothpick to fold the paper into paper sculptures that are simply amazing in their detail. I dare say that she has patience.

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz

Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz


Can you guess why this is my favorite? (grin)


Snowflake Nano-Orgami by Anja Markiewicz


Markiewicz even sells some of her nano origami encased in bubbles. There are key chains, jewelry and mobile phone charms at a very small price.

Hey my little arachnophobic daughter…Would you like me to buy you one of these pieces?


nano-origami spider necklace and keychain


(wicked evil grin)

The Redhead Riter



The 66,000 Tweet - Twitter Advice, 2009 vs 2012




At the beginning of using anything new, no one is good at it and everyone makes mistakes. Maybe I can help you avoid tweeting boring things on Twitter that also make you look like a beginner. Plus, I want to share some fun stuff with you.

On June 1, 2009 my blog post started with: "Late last night (I can't say what time or my family will think I've lost my mind), I finely started a Twitter account."

By October 19, 2009 I had 915 followers even though I mainly tweeted contests and giveaways that I entered. Actually, I was a very boring and ignorant Twitterer when I first started tweeting.

I don't have my first tweet, but I've been able to find some of my oldest tweets and I have been rolling my eyes at myself. Obviously, I didn't know how to tweet!

There is a point to showing you this, so try to bear with me.

The first is a comment I made on a blog...



I didn't tweet much in the beginning. I mostly just had tweets for giveaway entries and I actually did win quite a bit of stuff. Most of the things I won I gave to my daughter either to use or to put in her hope chest for her future.

https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/15655165089


https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/2660119365
https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/2746623856
https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/2834616418



Could these three tweets be much more boring?

https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/2834469757
http://twitter.com/TheRedheadRiter/status/2909985021
https://twitter.com/#!/theredheadriter/status/3573253075



https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/4768296990


https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/6136992588
https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/6137008333



https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/6293622040
https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/6338501258


https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/6387719639


https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/6403352496
https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/6490403191


https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/13666347091234816
https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/6604766315



I didn't win any of those giveaways, but they were teaching me a little bit about Twitter. As time passed, I learned how to create more interesting tweets and I also started using Hootsuite so that I could program tweets as well.

Eventually I found the TweetGrader site. It has all the Twitter users ranked so that you know where you fall in the millions of people that tweet. Right now my "grade" as a Twitter user is that I rank at 24,813 out of 9,938,660 users.

Not bad!




The site also ranks users by location. My location is Richmond, Virginia, USA. My first goal was to actually get on the top 100 and then my goal was to be above NBC12. It took a long time before I moved past the television station, but I was totally pumped when I did.

My next goal was to get past the playboy bunnies for obvious reasons followed by the GOP Leader. Who wouldn't want to pass a politician!

So now I am number 13 and my next goal is to be number 2. I don't win anything. My name isn't written across the sky.
It's just something to keep me motivated and it means that my social media influence is growing.

http://tweet.grader.com/location/?Location=Richmond%2C+VA%2C+United+States



On February 18, 2012, I tweeted my 66,000th tweet. That is a mind boggling number of tweets even to me because I am a rather quiet person most of the time. That many tweets makes me sound like a yapaholic! Without even planning it, this was my 66,000th tweet...




Yep! It was the Twitter art I had created that says, "REDHEAD" in big letters and then in letters that are in small circles it says,"THE REDHEAD RITER". I immediately grabbed a copy of the screen because I couldn't believe that was my 66,000th tweet!

If you want to see it actually on Twitter, here is the link to my 66,000th tweet:


►► https://twitter.com/#!/TheRedheadRiter/status/171087475446530048 #sweet

Twitter is a totally different experience for me now and my tweets are actually more like conversations. I've also developed relationships/friendships with many people while learning Twitter etiquette.

To show you that I'm more interesting on Twitter than I was in 2009, this is how my tweets look now...

I tweet ascii pictures...



I sing songs and tweet the real artist's video...



I share interesting information...



I create my own quotes...



I thank people who send things to me...



I thank people for retweeting my posts and I use my Twitter man, Humphrey, to spice up my tweets...



I tweet merchandise that I like...



I retweet other people's blog posts...



I tweet famous people's quotes...



I have learned short abbreviations to thank people...



I tweet and retweet beautiful photos...



I express myself...



I tweet fun facts...



I thank people for following me and reading my blog...



I advertise blog posts by attaching them to Twitter art pictures...



I participate in Follow Friday #FF where I shout out my friends. Since my list is long, it takes many, many tweets throughout the day...



As you can tell, my Twitter thread is dramatically different than it was when I first started tweeting years ago. Being active on Twitter has given me many opportunities to increase exposure to my blog and to strengthen friendships. It has definitely been worth the time and effort I have put into it.

If you have a blog or a business, you should be on Twitter working it every day. It won't even feel like work. If you're not following me yet, jump on over to Twitter and follow me! I followback! If you are already on Twitter, great! I'll be looking for you, so just give me a holler!


Follow The Redhead Riter on Twitter

The Redhead Riter