1.

Early life

A prodigious painter, his brilliance at drawing somewhat concealed his poor academic
records. Mentored by his father, he, by the age of 13, surpassed senior Picasso in
terms of skill and talent. In 1895, his family relocated to Barcelona, Spain. The move
turned fruitful for him as he got an opportunity to enrol at the prestigious School of Fine
Arts. But the strict rules of the school frustrated him and he began skipping classes to
wander on streets of Barcelona and sketching whatever he observed. He moved around
the lanes of Madrid, observing and painting what appealed his vision. He visited the
Prado museum to see paintings by famous Spanish painters. Returning to Barcelona in
1899, he found himself to be a part of a group of artists and intellectuals who made
their headquarters at a cafe called, El Quatre Gats.

2. Style/medium

He frequently pushed the boundaries of the possible, and made the medium his own. Picasso was a
talented etcher from the beginning of his artistic career. The medium in which Picasso made his most
important contribution was painting, but he also made sculptures, ceramics, drawings and many
thousands of prints, and numerous tapestries and rugs. It was not until 1939, however, that Picasso
tried a style of printmaking called linocut.

3. Movements

The years between 1901 and 1904 were known as Picasso's Blue
Period. Nearly all of his works were executed in somber shades of blue and
contained lean, melancholy, and introspective figures. Two outstanding
examples of this period are the Old Guitarist  (1903) and Life  (1903).

In the second half of 1904 Picasso's style took a new direction. In these
paintings the color became more natural, delicate, and tender in its range,
with reddish and pink tones dominating the works. Thus this period was
called his Pink Period. The most celebrated example of this phase is
the Family of Saltimbanques  (1905).

 
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon  is generally regarded as the first cubist painting.
The faces of the figures are seen from both front and profile positions at the
same time. 

4. Specific pieces of art

His works:
Portrait of Aunt Pepa

Science and Charity

The Kiss
Head