Today is...the Birth Anniversary of Pablo Picasso

Today is the birth anniversary of Pablo Picasso. If he were alive he would be 131.

Pablo Picasso, born October 25, 1881, was a Spanish artist, though he lived most of his adult life in France.

Picasso is generally said to be the inventor of Cubism, though Georges Braque painted what some critics argue to be the first cubist piece.

The first exhibition by Cubists was at the Salon des Independants in Paris in 1911.

Picasso married ballerina Olga Kohkhlova in 1918. In 1927, he started an affair with Marie-Therese Walter; he was 45 and she was 17. He stayed married to Kohkhlova until her death in 1955 so he would not have to give her half his wealth in a divorce

Walter was a model for many of Picasso's works and always hoped that Picasso would marry her, though he never did. After Kohkhlova's death, Picasso married Jacqueline Roque who was a muse and model for him. They were married until his death. Picasso also maintained numerous mistresses besides his wife and Walter.

Picasso's first work that is accepted as part of his professional career is The First Communion, painted in 1896 when he was 14. His work started out as realism and slowly morphed into the cubist style that is most attributed to him.

Picasso was extremely prolific in his career and produced an estimated 50,000 works including paintings, sculptures, ceramics, drawings, prints, tapestries, and rugs. Most of his paintings were still in his possession at his death as he kept anything that he did not need to sell.

More of Picasso's paintings have been stolen than any other artist, with approximately 550 of his works currently missing.

What is your favorite Picasso painting?