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Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso was a Spanish refugee, and he is remembered for his excellent pieces of artwork. The artist was one of the real influential artists in the 20th century. The research will analyze two works by Pablo (Cooke 338). One of them is a sculpture, and another one is a painting artwork. Traditionally, fine art includes artworks that have a visual sense (Butcher 19).

Pablo Picasso biography

Pablo was born in Spain and in the 20th century, he was among the influential artists. He was considered a radical artist. Apart from painting, he produced sculptures, worked on ceramics and was a printmaker. His talent might have been an inheritance from his father who was a painter and an art teacher. The artist was not a book talented person. He even used to be confined in a punishment cell at school, and he loved it. He sued to carry drawing materials to draw and sketch incessantly.

Picasso started his artwork when he was young (Cooke 338). When they moved to Barcelona as a family, at 14 years, he enrolled in a fine arts school. Later, he started skipping classes to walk the streets of Barcelona to sketch visual images he observed. In 1899, he met an artist who was a radical and anarchist who made him break away from the classical methods he had learned to pursue his dream in fine arts. In the 20th century, Picasso moved to France, and he started his art studio. His first artworks were focused on the blue shade and the period was named the blue period whereby he was lonely and mourning the death of his close friend Carlos (Cooke 338). The next period, the rose period, he was in love with a model and he had overcome the depression of his friend’s death. In 1918 to 1927 after the World War 1, the artist produced many classical works. From then, he became a profound artist creating images of uncertainty, and other art wisdoms he had achieved in his lifetime. He died in 1973 living behind a legacy of fine arts (Picasso 1881).

She-Goat Sculpture

Figure 1: She Goat by Pablo Picasso

The she-goat is a piece of work sculptured from bronze. He collected pieces of metals that had features and shapes of a goat. He used metals to craft the skeleton on which he build up and filled with ceramic substance (Butcher 23). Pablo Picasso could use any material to develop a piece of work. He is called the father of art due to his outgoing skills that make him develop exemplary pieces of artworks.

The artist has used one type of material that gives the artwork universal material and texture. The artwork has used different dark and light shades. A light pink color has been used to showcase the milk bowl. The dark lines, on the other hand, have been used to show the outline of the she-goat. The rough texture of the artwork gives it a unique visual appearance. The sculpture has been shaped with holes, line and protrusions to bring out the physical appearance of the she-goat.

The subject of the work was to showcase how different materials can be used to create an excellent piece of works. Picasso was motivated by anything like crafting a piece of artwork (Payne and Picasso 34). It follows that he was excited by the fact that a tangible material that is not flexible can be used to create a beautiful piece of art. Also, the subject being presented in the artwork is about optimism and the struggle for a better life in the future.

Picasso was a person who liked using metaphors. He had become a prominent artist by the 20th century immediately after the World War 2. One of the symbolisms of she-goat could have been the meaning of the freedom from the then world war. Thus, the world was over at the time of the sculpting of the she-goat. One of the meanings of she-goat sculpture by Picasso is the freedom that the world had recived. The people in the future would be an optimistic lot. On the same note, Picasso had another theme when sketching the she-goat. Picasso’s Mistress Francoise Gilot had given birth to their second born baby. The pregnancy symbolized the optimism Picasso and his mistress had ("Pablo Picasso Biography”).

The value of the work to the culture of the artists was to teach people about the importance of love, prosperity, and optimism in life. From the look of the sculpture, she-goat is not full but pregnant. It is a sign of new life and the fight to continue living. Thus. Picasso wanted the Spanish and French men to learn about the struggle and endure challenging situations for them to enjoy a better life in the future. I chose the she-goat sculpture due to its uniqueness of presentation. Traditional sculptures are made of stones and wood. Minerals that were commonly not use for sculptures. The texture of the sculpture is commendable. I love the dimensional and textural appeal of the artwork explaining why I chose the statue for analysis purpose.

Figure 2: Girl Before the Mirror by Pablo Picasso

Picasso in 1932 made “Girl Before the Mirror” by Pablo Picasso artwork. The portrait is a two-dimensional artwork. However, the original dimension of the work scales at 162.3 cm × 130.2 cm (63.9 in × 51.3 in) (Read 19). The painting was done using oil and canvas. It follows that from the visual arts of the painting, the artist has used contours to paint the picture. The shapes have been fitted together to form this piece of work (see appendix 1). In fact, one cannot easily deduce the meaning of this artwork without thinking deeply about the portrait.

The artist also used a mirror to give a certain meaning to the work. People only look at the mirror to see beautiful things and features. The work could be deduced to portray a message of beauty and mirrors are used to reflect on images. The mirror can be used to show one’s personality. It follows that the meaning of the portrait can also be depicting that Pablo had varied dimensions of his mistress. The fact that the two images do not resemble each other means that the artist had diverse views about his lover.

The subject of the work was love implying Picasso was in love with a French model. The picture was depicting the ideas that Picasso has his lover. The artist decided on this portrait to show his love for the young mistress. Picasso decided to paint the work and show how artistic he could be. At the moment, the use of shapes had not been adopted as a style of art. Nonetheless, Picasso is recognized among the fathers of art styles. The fact that Picasso was in love with a model that was not ready to settle down with him could have triggered the artwork (Read 39). He decided to create the art and show the contrast in the life of young women who do not want to grow older. The use of mirrors to create personalities of the woman he was in love with was creative.

The work intended to pass information to the audience about the love between the artist and his lover. The image depicts that the girl could also be pregnant. The girl looking at the mirror is skinny with no falling breasts. However, the image illustrates that the girl is pregnant with full-fledged breast indicating that Pablo is visualizing the mistress to be his wife ("Pablo Picasso Biography”). The piece of work may be aimed at an audience that includes youngsters and models. A model is a beautiful person, and aging for them makes them fearful aspect. The work can be valuable to the models and educate them that life is a stage. Models do not want to age nor start a family life. It follows that Picasso could be passing a message to the beautiful ladies that they should not forget to live life and in the end, they should start family life when they are old.

I choose the artwork due to its uniqueness. The title of the picture contrasts with the actual piece of work. The artwork is meant to be a reflection of one another. However, looking at the outcome, the two images do not resemble one another. In addition, the use of lines, shapes, and color was captivating. The three were combined to form an amazing artwork. It is also not easy to deduce the meaning of the painting. Looking at the picture for the first time does not give one a direct sense of what is happening. People should think critically for them to understand what message Pablo Picasso wanted to pass to his audience.

Conclusion

Art is a talent and hobby. An artist can easily use any piece of material to create an appealing artwork. Judging from the Picasso experience, he was a talented artist who helped in the development of art as a profession. The she-goat is an excellent piece of work. Using tangible and metal materials to create such work is a gift. The texture created on the goat is lovely. Moreover, the rough curves and depression used to create the texture is remarkable. On a personal level, the she-goat was a creative piece of work that can mesmerize even children. The message behind the work is incredible that people should always be optimistic in life. The girl forward-facing of the mirror is another marvelous piece of work by Picasso (Cooke 338). Further, the use of geometrical shapes to create a piece of work was extraordinary (Read 21). Howeve, the artwork cannot be easily understood since the picture was created using color, dark shades and use of contours (Sayre n.p). The picture is fantastic because it's irony as opposed to its title. The portrait is supposed to have to similar images due to mirror reflection. The girl is looking at the picture, and the picture in the mirror is for an old pregnant woman; the contrast is fascinating.