Pablo Picasso is considered one of the most influential painters of the 20th century, creating many of the most original paintings seen by the public eye. Much of his paintings were covered in obscurity, but that’s what made a Picasso painting so much more unique than other paintings in history by artists we assumed were already the best. Picasso would die in the 1970s but only after leaving behind a plethora of work that stands the test of time. For those of you who want to learn a little more about this famous painter, here are a few fun facts that’ll get you thinking.
Interesting Facts
What was his real name?
His name is perhaps the longest name you may have ever come across but his real name is 23 words long! It is as follows: Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruiz y Picasso. Whew… that’s no joke, its Picasso’s real legitimate name after he had been baptized.
I heard his birth was difficult.
It was a very difficult birth for his mother; it was so difficult that after she had him she believed he was stillborn. It took the smarts and ingenuity of the doctor present at the time to tell his mother the baby wasn’t stillborn, but no one could blame her. He was a very weak baby when he was born and it took a miracle and a good doctor to save his life.
Was he a bad student?
You better believe it! He was artistically and mentally beyond his years even in the lowest educational spectrum but he absolutely reveled in being told what he had to do and it was because of this that he was sent to Detention more often than not.
What was his first job?
The first job he ever took was actually everything that had to do with paint and art. So he got started quite early when he was hired by an art dealer in France who would go on to pay him a nice fee of 150 francs each month for his service.
Fun Facts
- While most children’s first words are “mama” or “dada,” Picasso was a true artist right from the start. Picasso’s mother said that his first word was “piz” which is short for lápiz—the Spanish word for pencil. It’s no wonder that his family started his art education early!
- The work of most expensive piece art in the world ever sold is by Picasso. The 1955 painting “Women of Algiers (Version ‘O’)” was sold in 2015 for 179.4 million dollars at a Christie’s Auction in New York.
- When a Nazi officer saw Guernica he asked Picasso “was you who did it?” and Picasso is said to have responded, “No, you did!”.
- The painter also loved animals! Picasso had a mouse, a turtle, a monkey and several cats and dogs.
- Picasso’s last words were “Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can’t drink any more.”
- On one nude portrait, Picasso had written “Cuando tengas ganas de joder, joder” or “When you are in the mood to screw, screw.”
