The Spanish Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born on October 25, 1881, and died on April 8, 1973. He was a multitalented artist, proficient as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, and draftsman noted for his leading role in the Cubist art movement. Although he was born in Málaga in Spain, he also traveled to other countries like France, where he also lived for some time. He also had two marriages, namely Olga Khokhlova and Jacqueline Roque, additionally, he also had several mistresses and four children. Some of his artworks include his famous Portrait of Gertrude Stein (1906), Guernica (1937), and Bull’s Head (1942). For tight corners, select small fine art prints as opposed to the oversized bold piece you’ll hang as a focal point in the dining area. But be careful not to choose something that is too big for your space. And feel free to lean into it if need be — not every work needs picture-hanging hooks. Leaning a larger fine art print against the wall behind a bookcase can add a stylish installation-type dynamic to your living room. ( Read more about how to arrange wall art here.) Alicia has been working for artincontext.com since 2021 as an author and art history expert. She has specialized in painting analysis and is covering most of our painting analysis.

Because artist’s editions tend to be more affordable and available than his or her unique works, they’re more accessible and can be a great opportunity to bring a variety of colors, textures and shapes into a space. In 1937, Pablo Picasso painted arguably the most famous painting of his lifetime, titled Guernica . The massive work is a chaotic and abstract composition responding to the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by the Nazis during the Spanish Civil War. This work is emotionally intense even to viewers today, and was largely hailed as a proponent of anti-war and anti-fascism sentiment. For Picasso, the dove was both an important political symbol and a personal one. It was a reminder of his father, José Ruiz y Blasco, who was also a painter and had taught Picasso his early skills as an artist. He had drawn doves in Picasso's childhood home in Málaga in the 1880s. Later in life, when Picasso moved to Cannes in the South of France in 1955, he built a dovecote, allowing him to observe and depict the resident doves. [2] In 1957, Picasso painted Studio (Pigeons. Velazquez), depicting an open window surrounded by doves. This was one of several paintings he created in the style of Matisse, as a homage to his friend and his doves. [8] Alicia du Plessis is a multidisciplinary writer. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Art History and Classical Civilization, as well as two Honors, namely, in Art History and Education and Development, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. For her main Honors project in Art History, she explored perceptions of the San Bushmen’s identity and the concept of the “Other”. She has also looked at the use of photography in art and how it has been used to portray people’s lives.Picasso’s Peace Dove would be something the artist would revisit again and again. The image of the dove in mid-flight has become a symbol synonymous with world peace. Today, Picasso’s La Colombe (Dove) is still associated as the emblem for the World Peace Council. The dove influenced the artist so much he named his daughter Paloma, the Spanish word for dove.

The white dove as a symbol in art is still associated with peace, something that many people do not realize stems from Picasso himself. His choice of a dove, a beautiful yet unassuming bird, to represent something as hopeful and momentous as world peace was a thoughtful one, as the animal brings to mind ideas of freedom and endless possibilities.

Until the Spanish Civil War, Picasso had been predominantly apolitical. His art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler stated that he had been the "most apolitical man" he had ever known. [1] However, the Spanish Civil War had a profound effect on Picasso's outlook, causing him to become more concerned with politics, which eventually led to his painting of Guernica in 1937. After painting this masterpiece, Picasso became a symbol of anti-fascism. By the end of World War II, Picasso had joined the Communist Party, motivated by humanitarian concerns. For Picasso, Communism offered a different path that rejected the fascism of the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War. However, this affiliation caused a certain amount of controversy. [2] Between 1948 and 1951, he attended several World Peace Congresses. When Picasso was asked to speak at the 1950 Peace Congress in Sheffield, he said, "I stand for life against death; I stand for peace against war." [3] Description [ edit ] A World Peace Council Congress in East Berlin on 1 July 1952 showing Picasso's dove above the stage, banner reading "Germany must become a land of peace" The Spanish Civil War played a crucial role in Picasso’s outlook. His dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler has stated that Picasso had hitherto been the ‘most apolitical man’ he had ever known: ‘He had never thought about politics at all, but the Franco uprising was an event that wrenched him out of this quietude and made him a defender of peace and liberty.’ (Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler with Francis Crémieux, My Galleries and Painters, London 1971, p.108.) After he painted his famous response to the German bombing of the Basque village of Guernica in 1937, Picasso became a symbol of antifascism and specifically of the struggle against fascism of artists and intellectuals. At the end of the Second World War he joined the Communist Party and attended a number of World Peace Congresses (in Wroclaw, Paris, Sheffield and Rome) between 1948 and 1951. Through the subtle application of ink wash Picasso also implied the texture of the dove’s feathers, and it has been described as a “soft” appearance. An example includes around the dove’s head, notice the hairs on its head as well as the shading around its eye, all of which appear as seemingly finer hairs.