Pablo Picasso Facts for Kids
Picasso was certainly a very famous painter indeed, and he may be the first name you think of when someone mentions the word ‘artist’!
Here are some amazing and fun facts about this great artist.
The Number of Words in Picasso’s Name
Best you sit down for this. Picasso has 23 words in his name! Picasso was baptized Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso.
He was named after various saints and relatives. The “Picasso” is actually from his mother, Maria Picasso y Lopez. His father is named Jose Ruiz Blasco.
Now that sure is a long name, but at least we only have to call him Picasso!
Picasso Nearly Died at Birth
Picasso had such a difficult birth and was a very very weak baby. In fact, he was so weak that the midwife thought that he was stillborn, meaning that he was born dead.
She left him to go and look after Picasso’s mother. His uncle, who was a doctor named Don Salvador, was the one who saved him. Wow, lucky for him. Imagine us not ever knowing who Picasso was?
What was Picasso’s First Word?
If you ask your parents what your first words were, they will probably say either ‘mama’ or ‘dada’, but Picasso’s first word, being the great artist that he was, was “piz”.
It is short for “lapis” the Spanish word for pencil.
When Did Picasso Start Learning about Art?
Picasso’s dad, Ruiz, decided to start teaching him art at the young age of 7.
However, by the time Picasso was 13 years old, his dad decided to give up painting for good as he thought that Picasso was a far better painter than he was.
When Did Pablo Picasso Paint His First Painting?
Amazingly, at the young age of 9 Picasso completed his first painting which was called Le picador, which was a man riding a horse in a bullfight.
His first major painting, which was an ‘academic’ work was First Communion, which was a portrait of his father, mother, and younger sister kneeling before an altar. Picasso was 15 when he finished it.
He sure was ahead of his time.
How Did Picasso Do at School?
Well, let’s put it this way, he was called a “terrible student” and always landed up in detention.
Even though he was a brilliant artist, he did not like being told what to do and didn’t follow the rules, which meant detention for him all the time!
He clearly didn’t enjoy school too much!
What was Picasso’s First Job?
Picasso signed his first contract in Paris with art dealer by the name of Pere Menach.
He agreed to pay Picasso 150 Francs per month, which is about the equivalent of US$750 today.
Did Picasso Steal the Mona Lisa?
Did you know that there were rumors that Picasso stole the Mona Lisa? Well there certainly were.
However he didn’t, but in 1911, when the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, the police took in Picasso’s friend, the poet Guillaume Apollinaire.
Apollinaire ratted out Picasso as a suspect, so the police hauled him in for questioning. Both were later released and weren’t guilty of the crime.
Cubism
In 1909, Picasso and French artist Georges Braque co-founded an art movement known as cubism.
Actually, it was a French art critic Louis Vauxcelles who first called it “bizarre cubiques” or cubism, after noticing that Picasso and Braque’s paintings were all “full of little cubes.”
Who Were Some of Picasso’s Greatest Friends?
He certainly moved around in famous circles as he was great friends with another very famous painter by the name of Marc Chagall.
Also, he named Paul Cezanne as his one and only master.
Hope you enjoyed our fun facts about Pablo Picasso!
Maybe you can use these for a school project or just share your knowledge with your friends and family.
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