Lessons on Life and Art from Pablo Picasso

Two weekends ago I visited the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, Spain. The museum houses 4,000 + works of original art, representing but a fraction of the artist’s total creative output. Hung throughout an old gothic building, the sketches and paintings stitch together a tapestry of Picasso’s life, from his earliest works to his final years. 

While exploring I carried my notebook and pen and recorded any observations or interesting thoughts. My takeaways are what follows.

Make lots of art
This might sound obvious, but when you take a moment to appreciate the volume of Picasso’s work, you realize just how insanely productive he was. When I think about making art, my desire to create something “perfect” often slows down my output. It’s not that artists should make spam in the name of creating art, but I know I criticize myself way more than an artist of Picasso’s caliber would. Creative work is more about process than outcome. Not all of Picasso’s paintings are masterpieces. In fact, many in the museum were left unfinished. The amazing achievement to me isn’t the one perfect painting, but the thousands of paintings made in the pursuit of making better art. 

Be a student of technique
What’s fascinating about the Picasso Museum in Spain is that we all know Picasso for his avant-garde abstract paintings. Yet the first half of his museum is all hyper-realistic portraits the artist produced in his earlier years while practicing his techniques. Picasso was trained as a classical artist first and foremost. Before breaking the rules, Picasso mastered them. Instead of attending some of his fine art classes, Picasso skipped to go make copies and emulate the brushstrokes of master artists like Diego Velázquez. 

Copy the masters
Which brings me to my final takeaway, which is copy master artists. Despite his originality, Picasso’s career was built on a foundation of copying the styles and techniques of other artists. This is true for getting better at just about any skill. It’s important to learn from those who are currently at the top of the field. There are lessons to be gained and mistakes to avoid. Cloning the masters doesn’t have to be the pinnacle of an artist’s career, but it’s almost always a stepping stone. 

I don’t know if Picasso was a happy man. I only know that he achieved as much notoriety for his art that any human can reasonably hope to achieve. What I can distill from his life and work is that they appear to be one in the same. Picasso lived to make art and also made art to live. It takes courage to lead this kind of inspired life. I feel that most people today (and probably also during Picasso’s life) have backup plans in case our passions don’t lead to a lucrative career. We may love music but have one foot out the door in case our talents don’t support the life we desire. There’s no doubt in my mind that Picasso was all in as an artist from his earliest days holding a brush. 

Hopefully some of these notes and thoughts resonate with you. I’m grateful I was able to visit Picasso’s museum and take in some of his genius. Thanks for reading!