1881 - 1973
France

Arguably the most famous artist of 
the 20th century, Picasso was born 
in Spain, at Málaga, and received 
encouragement from his father, 
who was an artist and teacher. 
After a period in Barcelona he moved 
to Paris in 1904. The early paintings 
of his so called blue period changed 
to paintings in tones of pink and grey. 
His interest in primitive art culminated 
in the painting The Demoiselles d’Avignon 
(1906/7, Museum of Modern Art, New York).
 
 

Semi-abstract painting in the form of 
‘Analytical Cubism’ was developed 
by Picasso and Braque in the years 
1910-12, followed by the less severe 
works of ‘Synthetic Cubism’ including 
Fruit Dish, Bottle and Violin in 1912-16. 
Classical art became an increasingly 
important influence on Picasso’s art 
following a visit to Rome in 1917. 
His later years, which showed no 
abatement in his production of painting 
and graphic art, sculpture and pottery, 
were spent mainly in the South of France.

PICASSO
1901

Anonymous loan.

Painted in Paris in 1901. The bold, 
simple style and the sentimental subject 
are characteristic of Picasso's so-called 
Blue Period. It is possible that Picasso 
painted this work on top of a 
different composition.

PICASSO  2
1914

Signed, bottom left: Picasso
Canvas, 92 x 73 cm, Purchased, 1979.

The painting is a work of Picasso’s Synthetic 
Cubist period. Its playful character is evident 
in comparison with other works of this period, 
such as Still Life with a Bunch of Grapes in the 
Berggruen Collection. In the Gallery painting 
the bowl of fruit appears at the top of the 
composition with the violin below and a 
newspaper to the right.

The bright colouring, green with brown, blue 
and mauve, is confined largely to the central 
part of the canvas, with spotted areas to the left 
and right overlapped by the violin. Below this the curved shape 
of the table and one of the bulbous 
legs is visible. The sense of harmony and balance 
in the design reveals Picasso’s continuing 
debt to the work of  Cézanne.