Picasso-Inspired Portraits

5th and 6th grade studied the many forms of art that Pablo Picasso practiced and made famous, and then tried their hand at one of his best-known styles: cubism.

First they drew detailed portraits of themselves or a friend, and then came the fun – or painful, for some – part – the cutting! They chopped up their portraits into geometric shapes and rearranged them on a Picasso-inspired background.  The result is a lively, inspiring, and confusing work of art that would make any cubist artist proud.

Who was Pablo Picasso, anyway?

His full name is Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Clito Ruiz y Picasso.

• Who was he? A Spanish painter and sculptor, born in 1881.
• His first word was pencil
• Moved to Paris to learn art during very, very poor times – his roommate would work during the day and Picasso would work at night.  He actually burned most of his art just to keep his apartment warm.
• He refused to fight for any side during WWI, the Spanish Civil war, or WWII
• He had to do much of his art in hiding; while he was in France, the Nazis took over, and they hated his style of painting.
• His art was always changing, and he was often the one to start a new movement, far ahead of all the others.
• Picasso is most known for his blue period work (when painting were made of primarily blue or green, with shades and tints of other colors mixed in.) and his cubist-style work.
• Cubism: breaking n object down into geometric shapes. Picasso also cut out pictures and wallpaper, making the first collage art.