What comes to mind when you hear the name Pablo Picasso? Perhaps it’s his strange portraits with noses turned to the side but eyes looking straight ahead, or his geometric shapes that are hard to understand but convey passion, or his mysterious paintings that look like they were drawn by a child but possess an undeniable awe. In general, the word Picasso itself has become synonymous with an “incomprehensible genius,” but if you delve into the person he was, you’ll see that he was actually a much more approachable, more charming, and above all, a strikingly “human” old man.
First, we must mention his full name. Picasso’s full name is Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso. This is not a joke; it’s true. It’s so long that if you try to remember it, your mind will go blank halfway through, but essentially, it’s the result of cramming in as many names as possible of saints and relatives. If he were alive today and had to write his name on official documents, it might have taken up half the time he could have spent on his art. When you think about it that way, it was fortunate for us, and probably for him too, that he worked under the short name “Picasso.”
The legend of Picasso begins at the moment of his birth. He was so quiet when he was born that it was thought he had been stillborn. However, when his uncle, who was present at the birth, blew smoke from his cigar into the baby’s face, Picasso burst into tears. It was a wild debut, awakened by nicotine. Hearing this episode, one can’t help but think that the source of the tremendous energy he exuded throughout his life might have been that smoke.
He was a child prodigy. His father was also a painter and art teacher, but there’s a famous story that young Pablo’s drawings were so incredibly good that his father despaired, feeling he had nothing more to teach him, and gave up his brush and his palette to his son. It’s wonderful when your child is talented, but it’s a little sad to imagine how a father must have felt to have his professional pride shattered. However, Picasso himself was completely unfazed by the bewilderment of those around him and continued to paint relentlessly.
What made Picasso so remarkable was that he never stuck to a single style. Most painters, once they find a style they like and achieve success, stick with it for the rest of their lives. But Picasso was different. He had the “Blue Period,” when he was devastated by the death of his best friend and painted only blue pictures; then the “Rose Period,” when he was in love and happy and his paintings became brighter; and finally, he evolved into the “Cubism” that everyone knows, where he unified disparate perspectives into one. It’s like the owner of a popular ramen shop suddenly announcing, “From today, I’m switching to Italian food,” and yet the line becomes huge again; and then the following month he changes the sign again, saying, “Actually, I’m a rice porridge shop after all.” And what’s more, each of these was top-notch. It must have been overwhelming for his fans, but he had an irresistible charm that made them want to follow him anyway.
Especially during the Cubist period, he dismantled objects on the canvas. Why did he do that? He wanted to depict not what was visible, but what he knew. For example, when we look at a glass in front of us, we only see it from the front, but in our minds we know the back and bottom of the glass. So, his logic was, why not just paint it all at once? Such an unrestrained way of thinking. If he were a chef, he would have given a customer who ordered curry a plate in which the cross-section of the potato, the aroma of the roux, and the coldness of the spoon were reconstructed separately, and declared, “This is the essence of curry.”
Picasso’s private life was even more complex than his canvases. He loved many women throughout his life, and each time he changed his style. When he found a new lover, the image of his previous lover vanished like mist, and a new goddess reigned on his canvases. This must have been unbearable for the women, but for him, love was the fuel, a ritual for being reborn as a new person. He was an extremely attentive and passionate man, but at the same time, he was incredibly selfish. But perhaps without that kind of energy, he could not have left behind tens of thousands of works of art.
Picasso also has some very endearing stories. He loved animals and doted on his dachshund, Lamp. He even kept an owl as a pet. Apparently, he once found an injured owl, treated its wounds, and it ended up living with him in his studio. Imagining a man with such a strong personality like Picasso and an owl gazing at each other in his studio in the middle of the night, it’s like a scene from a strange fairy tale, and it makes him seem a little more endearing.
There’s also an interesting story about his sense of money. Picasso was one of the wealthiest painters in the world, yet he often paid by check. This was because he knew that a check he signed would have value in itself as “Picasso’s autograph,” and that recipients would cherish it as a decoration rather than cash it. In other words, he was essentially getting his purchases for free. Having his name become currency is a brand power that would put even modern influencers to shame. The shopkeeper who received the check didn’t receive any money, but he got Picasso’s autograph. It’s a strange, yet magical story, typical of Picasso, where no one loses.
Even in his later years, Picasso’s creative drive never waned. His famous quote, “I can finally paint like a child,” is well-known. As he grew older, he shed the armor of knowledge and technique, and was able to move his brush with pure curiosity alone. This is surely the highest point that can be reached in any field. As we grow older, we seek the right answer, fear failure, and become concerned with what others think. However, even after turning ninety, Picasso continued to move his hands in search of new forms, like a child playing in a sandbox.
If you ever find yourself wondering, “What is depicted?” when looking at his work, try thinking this way: Picasso wasn’t trying to confuse us; he was teaching us, “It’s okay to see the world this freely.” He poked holes in the rigid rules of tradition and showed us the light that shone through. His paintings may seem strange not because he was strange, but because he was “freer” than anyone else.
Looking back at Picasso’s life, we see overwhelming talent, just as many human flaws, and an insatiable curiosity. He was not some saint out of reach, but a down-to-earth, self-centered man who laughed, got angry, and enjoyed life more than anyone else. The vast body of work he left behind is not merely a collection of art, but perhaps a vast “diary” of just how much he found this world fascinating.
The next time you see a Picasso painting in a museum, try to relax a little. Imagine him painting it. He was probably sticking his tongue out a little, grinning as he moved his brush, wondering what he would smash next. When you approach him not as an artistic master, but as the world’s biggest troublemaker, his paintings will appear even more vivid and delightful to our eyes. Pablo Picasso. Like his long name, he was an eternal “child” who ran through a life that was inexhaustibly rich, bumpy, and lovable.