Picasso: Reconstructed

By the time Picasso was 14 years old, he was already cranking out paintings that looked like copies of the greats of all time. He was a child prodigy.

Yet, when Picasso was an adult, he was painting distorted faces with eyes, noses, and mouths in all the ‘wrong’ places.

What made Picasso such a great artist? Was it the fact that he could paint like the masters? Was it the fact that once he mastered the art of painting, he refused to continue to paint like the masters? He refused to simply follow what he had been taught, and instead found a path for himself… Or was it the sheer quantity of his work? It’s been estimated that he created over 50,000 works of art during his lifetime: 1885 paintings, 1228 sculptures, 2880 ceramic pieces, 12,000 drawings, and tens of thousands of prints.

I don’t know the answer to that. I think it’s remarkable how consistently he produced artwork, and how many styles he helped pioneer. I also will give him credit for making changes, for not feeling any obligation to remain who he was before.

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

- Pablo Picasso