Pablo Picasso was suspected of stealing the Mona Lisa: Intriguing facts about the famous painter
Pablo Picasso is considered to be one of the most seminal artists of the 20th century. The prolific painter is credited as one of the founders of Cubism, a popular art form which uses geometry to create paintings and drawings. A precocious master of his art, Picasso started painting at the age of 9 and remained an active visionary till his death at 91. Over the years, he experimented stylistically and emerged as one of the most respected artists in history. However, not many knew that his personal life was also incredibly intriguing. Read on to learn about these lesser-known facts about Picasso.
Pablo Picasso is not his full name
Although he is referred to by the name “Pablo Picasso” everywhere in the world, very few know that it is not exactly his full name. In fact, his name is nothing short of a tongue twister and has as many as 23 words. His name, as given to him when he was born is actually Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso. All these names belong to saints and a few of his relatives. He decided to adopt his mother’s last name as he felt it was more resonant with “Pablo.”
His first word as a baby accurately indicated his future as an artist
Usually, most babies’ first words are ‘mama’ or ‘dada.’ However, baby Picasso was an exception to this. According to his mother, María Picasso y López, his very first word was ‘piz’- the short form of the Spanish word ‘lápiz’ which translates to ‘pencil’ in English. In fact, the art prodigy started his art education at a young age and finished his first painting at 9 years old. His father was also a skilled artist who taught at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts. Safe to say, the art gene ran in the family.
Picasso was named as a suspect in the Mona Lisa robbery case
One of the world’s most famous artworks, Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ was stolen from the Louvre museum in Paris in 1911. Guillaume Apollinaire, a French poet, implicated Picasso, who was his friend, when he was named as a suspect in this case. Both the friends were brought in for questioning, and eventually got exonerated later. A couple of years later it was found that the painting had been stolen by a Louvre employee.
He was a multi-talented artist
Of course, it was his paintings which made him gain recognition all over the world. However, very few know that his talents exceeded the four corners of a canvas. He was also a poet, sculptor, ceramicist, playwright and set designer. In fact, he wrote more than 300 poems between the years 1935 and 1959. During the decade of the 1940s, he wrote two plays titled ‘Desire Caught by the Tail’ and ‘The Four Little Girls.’