There were many great artists in the twentieth century who gave many new dimensions to art. There are many contemporary and later artists of Pablo Picasso whom we remember today, but Picasso still seems to be the most important and relevant of them all. Understanding what causes this has always been a puzzle. Picasso was the subject of controversy regarding his treatment of fellow artists, his views on women, and many other reasons, but this did not detract from his greatness as an artist. This year, when his fiftieth death anniversary year is being celebrated all over the world, his exhibitions are being held at various places, then discussion has started about his being relevant even today. Recently Picasso Museum in Málaga, Spain opens an exhibition of Picasso’s sculptures, ‘Picasso Sculptor: Matter and Body’ showing his sculptures depicting human figures. Málaga is the birthplace of Picasso.
Picasso is best known in the world for his paintings. Among the artists who are credited with introducing cubism, Picasso appears to be at the forefront. His painting Guernica is still considered one of the most powerful symbols of resistance to war and violence. His sketch of a peace dove is an indelible symbol of human history. The sculpture of a bull made from the seat and handle of a bicycle is said to be a departure of art from waste material. There are so many things that keep Picasso relevant even today.
It was not only Picasso who did this, he did graphics with painting, made sculptures, and worked in many other mediums. Many of his contemporaries were doing the same. Picasso once said, "Good artists borrow, great artists steal." Picasso was a good artist in that he did not hesitate to borrow from wherever he found something useful and meaningful. At the beginning of cubism, he borrowed heavily from his fellow artist Georges Braque. Before that, he took the concept of cubism from Paul Cézanne. He took inspiration from African crafts. He also accepted all these things. When he decided to do graphics, he collaborated with other artists. Similarly, to make sculptures, he started creating iron crafts together with Julio González. His fellow cubist artist Georges Braque created sculptures as well as paintings. John Miró was a painter but he also created sculptures. Thus there were many artists who at that time were working in other genres after being established as painters. So it was not surprising for Picasso to do so. Surprisingly, Picasso made sculpture his main art form like painting. Not that he gave up after making a few sculptures, or made only occasional sculptures, as many of his contemporaries did. Picasso not only kept sculpture as his main art but made such experiments in it that became an inspiration for the next generation of artists.
There have been many great sculptors before Picasso and even after him, but hardly any of them has done so many inventive works in sculpture. Picasso did more experiments in sculptures than he did in painting. He first worked on found objects. He worked in 1912 with cardboard, wire, etc. When Marcel Duchamp started presenting the readymade object as an art piece, Picasso did not lag in taking inspiration from him and he created a craft with the seat and handlebar of a bicycle. Although this statue of Picasso is kept in the category of a found object, it was a statue made of readymade objects. But one interesting thing about this is that we can also call it the initial form of installation.
Picasso started making sculptures as early as 1909 when he made Woman's Head in bronze. One of the earliest works to re-frame sculpture as an assembly of open, planar parts and something more akin to architecture was Maquette for Guitar which was created in 1912. This piece is made of cardboard, paper, string, and wire that has been folded, threaded, and adhered together to form an assemblage or three-dimensional collage. It was the first sculpture ever made from various parts, and it was unlike any other sculpture that had ever been seen. This work translates Picasso's Cubist ideas in numerous viewpoints and geometric forms into a three-dimensional object, further blurring the line between high art and culture by fluidly combining mass and its surrounding emptiness. Picasso remade this artwork in 1914, this time using sheet metal, which is more stable and long-lasting.
This was the period when Picasso was in the news for his analytical cubist paintings. Look at his Woman Head sculpture which is also in cubist style and also Maquette for Guitar. This clearly shows that he was creating his painting and sculpture as two expressions of his style. It was not that his crafts appeared to be different from his paintings. The guitar also appears in his cubist paintings.
Picasso created sculptures in a variety of materials. For him, expression was more important than content. Yes, later he cast his sculptures made in cardboard or made in cement and ceramic in bronze. Together with Julio González, he started iron sculpture. These crafts created by bending and welding iron rods inspired later artists. Today many artists are doing this kind of work. At that time a critic called these sculptures drawings in space. Picasso later transformed many of his drawings and paintings into sculptures. This inspired many artists.
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