Pablo Picasso, born in 1881 in Malaga, was an active artist for most of his long life. His father, an artist himself, was his first and most formative art teacher. Picasso had one of the most fruitful and creative careers in history.
Picasso went through many creative periods in his career. His "Blue Period" started in 1901, when one of his dear friends, a painter and poet named Carlos, passed away in a cafe in Paris. Picasso was deeply affected, and sank into a depression that lasted several years.
In 1904, Picasso moved to Montmartre in Paris, and settled into the community of artists and creators there. Coming out of his depression, Picasso moved on from dark and serious subjects in his paintings to more lighthearted compositions featuring harlequins, clowns and carnival performers. His color palette (调色盘) warmed up as well, with his paintings now bathed in reds, oranges, pinks and earth tones. This period was known as Picasso's "Rose Period" and it lasted until 1906.
From 1906 to 1909 Picasso was heavily inspired by African art, after he was exposed to traditional African masks (面具) and other art objects coming from Africa into French museums in Paris. This stage was called his "African Period", and was a precursor (先驱) to his most famous period, "Cubism". Influenced by Paul Cezanne's experimentation with three-dimensional spacing and perspective on art, Picasso and Georges Braque led the artistic movement known as Cubism. This way of breaking down a form to its most basic forms and reconstructing them in an abstracted way is what Picasso is most known for.
Throughout his life, Picasso took inspiration from everywhere in his life, whether it be working through his emotions, responding to a difficult life event, or the works of his fellow artists. In turn, his life's works have inspired and influenced millions of people around the world and forever changed the history of art.
