Pre-Blue Period: Tutelage and Development of Artistic Vision

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I. Pre-Blue Period: Tutelage and Development of Artistic Vision

Like many artistic geniuses, Picasso demonstrated a rare precocity. Born in 1881, he was already training as a painter by 1888 when his father, a naturalist and professor of Fine Arts, began teaching him in figure drawing and oil painting (Walther 90). Picasso’s father was rumored to have given up painting when witnessing his son’s revision of his unfinished sketch (Wertenbacker 11). After his sister’s death in 1895, Picasso was severely depressed, and the family moved to Barcelona, which later became Picasso’s refuge and sanctuary (Wertenbacker 13). During this period, Picasso focused on history pieces and portraiture, the genres popular at the time, and the ones in which his father specialized. His father, compelled by his son’s precocious abilities, persuaded the officials at the School of Fine Arts, where he worked, to allow the 13 year-old boy to take the entrance exam. Most students required several weeks to complete the exam; however, Picasso completed it in only a week, and was accepted (Walther 90). Eventually, the young Picasso was sent to Madrid, to attend the Royal Academy of San Fernando, the nation’s most prestigious art school (Wertenbacker 13). Finally disentangled from his father, Picasso left for Madrid to explore his own artistic interests and voice. Prior to this development, Picasso had been ruled by his father, who oversaw Picasso’s artistic productions, and who sent him to study under teachers whom he himself supervised. He soon discovered himself a maverick, disliking the oversight of instructors. Moreover, Picasso, at this time, aspired to recapture the vision of the classical painters, such as Rembrandt; however, he was not strong ...

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...oholics and beggars, to circus performers.

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