The myth of Picasso

Pablo Picasso had both commercial and critical success as an artist. He paid for a house in the south of France with one still life painting. He was the first living artist to exhibit in the Louvre. His name is known to most, even outside of the art world. His art, even allowing for works like Guernica and Les Demoiselles D’Avignon, is less familiar. When we think of Van Gogh, we see sunflowers, when we think of Picasso, we see Picasso.

The cult of The Great Artist was deliberately cultivated. Picasso understood how myths were created, and played a large part in shaping his own. There’s the oft-told story about his early genius. Observing his son’s brilliance at the easel, Picasso’s father handed the thirteen-year old his palette and vowed never to paint