Pablo Picasso and his connection with Barcelona: how did the Catalan city influence the life of a world-class artist?

A lot of people don't know this, but Pablo Picasso, one of the most important artists of the 20th century, has deep roots in Barcelona. Pools Catalan the city played a key role in his artistic development and inspiration. Let's take a look at Picasso's life story and his relationship with Barcelona.

Portrait of Pablo Picasso in old age

Picasso's arrival in Barcelona

Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain in 1881. When the boy was 14 years old, moved with his family in 1895 to Barcelona, because his father got a professorship at the local university Real Academia, high school of art in the quarter La Ribera (El Born). (By the way, the school was in the premises of a historical building The Llotja and you can still look at her while wandering around the city.)

Barcelona as a city fascinated the young Picasso and he spent the most important, formative years of his artistic life here. 

La Llotja building where Picasso studied in Barcelona

Barcelona as the cradle of Picasso's art

Barcelona at the end of the 19th century was a center of artistic revolution, revival and progress. modernism was at the top and Gaudí he was just wondering how long it would take to finish Sagrada Familia.

The young Picasso, who already had a talent and a feeling for drawing from an early age, began soon after moving to study at the same school as his father taught. He was accepted there due to his talent, even though he was only 14 years old.

The Life (La Vie, 1903)

During the school years here met many avant-garde artists and intellectuals, who influenced his life and future career.

The most common place for them to meet was a cafe The four cats, where Picasso had his first public exhibition in 1900.

The blue season full of darkness and doom

And it was Barcelona where Picasso in the years 1901-1904 developed his famous and later highly regarded Blue Period.

This part of his artistic career was affected by various hardships and personal tragedies, such as the suicide of his friend, the painter and poet Carles Casagems.

Picasso's Blue Period characterized by depressing and dramatic images in blue and teal colors, depicting themes of loneliness, poverty, suffering or old age. A frequent motif of his works from this period were people on the fringes of society, such as beggars or prostitutes. Picasso—like all good artists—often he drew on his own experiences, because even when his friend was alive, they liked to wander the dark streets of the neighborhood together El Raval and frequented local brothels. 

The Old Guitarist (1903)

Notable works from the Blue Period:

• The Blue Room (1901)
• The Screaming Beggar Woman (1902)
• The Life (La Vie, 1903)
• The Old Guitarist (1903)

Picasso's legacy in Barcelona

Picasso left Barcelona at the age of 23, in 1904. 

He went to Paris, where he had already traveled several times in the past. 

And even though he left the Catalan capital, his connection with Barcelona never ended, as he returned here regularly. 

Today, we can find his traces in several places in the city:

• Picasso Museum (Picasso Museum) – one of the most visited in Barcelona museums na Carrer Montcada, which has a collection of several thousand works by Picasso
• Fresco on the facade of the Col·legi d'Arquitectes – just a few steps away Cathedrals you will find a series of two frescoes by Picasso
• The four cats – the already mentioned historic cafe in the center of Barcelona still carries with it the spirit of the original time when Picasso visited it
• Homage and Picasso – a tribute to Picasso created by another Barcelona artist, Antoni Tàpies in 1983. It is a glass cube filled with furniture set in the middle of a small pond. Personally, I don't really understand this "art"... You can make up your own mind on Passeig de Picasso (map) on the way to city ​​park. 

Fresco in front of the Cathedral

Influence on Barcelona culture

Pablo Picasso and Barcelona are inextricably linked.

The city and its people once inspired a young artist, and in return he left an indelible mark here, helping to make Barcelona one of the most important centers of modern art in Europe. 

If you are in Barcelona, ​​I definitely recommend visiting its museum - if you like art, you will spend a few hours here. And if you happen to be in town on any 1st Sunday of the month, you can check it out for free...

Tickets: Picasso museum, Barcelona