Pablo Picasso and the Dora Maar au Chat

Pablo Picasso was born on October 25, 1881 in Mlaga, Spain. Pablos full name is Pablo

Diego Jos Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la

Santsima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruz y Picasso. This name honors a variety of saints

and relatives. His mothers name is Doa Maria Picasso y Lopez. His father was an art teacher

and a painter. His name is Don Jos Ruiz Blasco.

He was a world weary and serious child. He had a pair of watchful piercing black eyes.

They seemed to say he was destined for greatness. Even though Pablo wasnt a very rich student,

he showed a great talent for drawing at a young age. His father began teaching him to draw when

he was very young. At age 13 his skills were better than his fathers. His focus in school began to

be centered on drawing. He doodled on the pages in his notebook. Since he was a bad student

he was sent to a bare cell with whitewashed walls and a bench to sit on. He liked it there because

he brought his sketchbook and could focus on drawing.

At age 14, in 1895, him and his family moved to Barcelona, Spain. Here he applied for

one of the most prestigious schools of art. His entrance exam was so outstanding that he was

immediately accepted. He quickly go annoyed by the restrictions at this school and began to

skip. He would roam Barcelonas streets and sketch the scenes he saw.

At 16 Picasso moved to Madrid. He attended the Royal Academy of San Fernando. He

got annoyed by the school and how they focused only on classical subjects. So, again, he skipped

class and would roam the streets to paint what he saw. In 1899 he moved back to Barcelona. He

met a crowd of artists. They called their headquarters, at a cafe, El Quatre Gats. From here he

began a lifelong process of innovation. He became one of the most influential artists of the 20th

century. His work was considered radical. After a prolific career he died on April 8th, 1973.
 One of Pablo Picassos most famous paintings is the Dora Maar au Chat. It was painted in

1941 during the second world war. It s a painting of his lover, Dora Maar, sitting in a chair with a

kitty on her shoulder. Although it is a simple painting, it is considered to be one of the most

expensive in the world. The cat is described as a combination of danger and amusement. Picasso

used faceted planes to portray her body. He also used intense colors and lavishly layered

brushstrokes to create a chiseled look. He used complex patterns as well to make a powerful

effect.

Pablo also used vertically inclined planes that contrasted with a shallow inner space. This

is used in many of Picassos early works, as in the cubist style. This painting is also a reference

to the tension between Picasso and Maar as well as the tension of German occupied France. Both

situations frustrated him so he used his paintings and their abstract forms to express his

frustration.
 Reference Page
http://totallyhistory.com/dora-maar-au-chat/
http://www.biography.com/people/pablo-picasso-9440021