Pablo Picasso was born in 1881 in Spain. He was the son of a drawing master, under whom he began his study of art. Picasso is recognized as a major contributor to the art of the 20th century because of the brilliant manner in which he visualized his objects and scenes.

He began painting in the city of Corunna in 1891. In 1895, and up until 1904, he painted in Barcelona; however, during this time, he made his first trip to Paris, where he was greatly influenced by the artwork of Toulouse-Lautrec.

From 1900 to 1907, Picasso completed his first two artistic periods: the Blue Period and the Rose Period. Both periods reflect his visions of society at the time. The scenes and people depicted were usually impoverished, and he tended to focus on the outcasts of society.

In 1906, Picasso met Matisse, who was to become his longtime friend. Picasso admired Matisse's Fauvist style, but would not copy it, concentrating instead on simplifying his forms rather than dealing with color issues. Shortly afterward, Picasso began to work with Georges Braque and Joan Miró, starting the movement known as Cubism. As an artistic movement, Cubism is the exact reproduction of an image seen from a variety of perspectives at the asame time. Picasso's Cubist works were somewhat more emotional than many Cubist-style paintings. He tended to give creative life to the feelings of anguish and despair he was experiencing at the time.

One of his most celebrated artistic pieces is "Guernica." This piece utilized mythological subjects as prototypes. Some of these subjects included the Minotaur, the Dying Horse, and the Weeping Woman. "Guernica" was produced for the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1937 and clearly depicted Picasso's thoughts and emotions regarding the Spanish Civil War. This painting, with its vigorous brushstrokes, spoke clearly of Picasso's strong emotions to the destruction which surrounded him. In his later years, Picasso abandoned painting and devoted himself to drawing, printmaking, sculpture and ceramics.