Artists - Part 22

 Picasso

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) painted and drew a large number of female nudes, but there are also some male nudes in his extensive output.

For those who think that "modern" art is done by artists who aren't good enough to make realistic art, Picasso is the classic refutation.  Picasso's early art was skillful and realistic, like the study of a man, above, done in 1896, when he was only 15.

Less polished but still realistic is this self-portrait from 1902.

Seated Male Nude, 1908, shows the beginnings of cubism, with parts of the man becoming geometric figures, like the triangular nose.

Picasso went much further with cubism, but from time to time he still drew realistic figures, like this sketch Deux Hommes Sculptes (two male statues) in 1933.  The man on the right is the sculptor; the other two are the statues.

Also from 1933 is Silenus Dancing in Company.  In Greek mythology, Silenus was a tutor and companion of the god Dionysus and was associated with drunkenness.

But other works showed Picasso's characteristic way of combining multiple views.  At first glance, La Reve (the dream), 1943, shows a sleeping woman.  But the upper part of her face looks like a penis.  Is it her face?  Is it a penis?  It's both.  Perhaps that's what she's dreaming of.

This self-portrait, done in 1966 when he was 85 years old, is quite different from his 1902 self-portrait.  Both show him nude, but this one combines and overlaps multiple views.

This untitled piece from 1967 is the only thing I've seen in Picasso's work that shows explicit sex (hetero, of course; Picasso was not gay).  It may be porn, but it's Picasso porn, and that makes it art.

In Naked Man and Woman, 1968, the man has an erection, also rare in Picasso's work.

But Picasso never had a problem depicting genitals.  The Embrace, 1972, was his last painting.  It's hard to see what's going on amid the tangle of arms and legs, but the dick and balls are clear.