Last Reviewed and Updated on July 29, 2022
Pablo Picasso is one of the most known and highly acclaimed painters of the 20th century. He constantly challenged convention and blended past and present, creating some of the best-known works of art in history. Explore these facts about Pablo Picasso and learn about some of his quirks as well as his dark side.
1. His full name is quite a handful
The world knows him as Pablo Picasso, but not many know his full name. It’s Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso. That’s 23 words.
2. His father was an artist
Pablo Picasso’s father, José Ruiz y Blasco, was an artist. He was a painter and an art teacher. He specialized in still lifes, landscapes, and especially paintings of doves and pigeons.
3. Picasso had his first exhibition when he was 13
The artistic talents of this man were apparent at a very young age, his father started teaching him art when he was a young child. He surpassed his father by the time he was 13.
His first exhibition was in Barcelona in 1900 when he was 13 years old. A year later he already had a major exhibition in Paris’s renowned rue Laffitte.
4. Picasso was married twice
His love life was a complicated one, and he wasn’t a role model partner. His attitude to women was misogynistic, he may have been physically abusive to some and he had multiple mistresses and lovers. He did marry twice.
5. He was “shooting” people with blanks
Picasso would often carry a revolver filled with blanks with him. He would “shoot” at some people who asked him about the meaning behind his paintings.
6. He holds the world record for most pieces of art created by a single person
He holds the world record for the most prolific painter. It is estimated he produced about 13.500 paintings and designs, 100.000 prints and engravings, 34.000 book illustrations, and 300 sculptures and ceramics. Not a shabby Guinness world record to hold.
7. His first word was “piz” meaning pencil
For a painter as prolific as he was, it really comes as no surprise his first word would be art related. His first word was “piz” which is short for pencil in Spanish.
8. He was a troublemaker in school
He wasn’t the best student academically and he would also skip school frequently and not do much of his school work. Picasso was often in detention as well.
9. When Mona Lisa was stolen, he was one of the suspects
This is one of the most interesting facts about Pablo Picasso. When Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre Museum (Paris) on August 21 in 1911, Pablo Picasso was one of the suspects. While he didn’t have anything to do with stealing Mona Lisa, he wasn’t exactly an unlikely suspect, as while he (probably) never stole from the Louvre museum he did pay his friend for a few sculptures that were stolen from the said museum. The police believed it is possible that whoever is in possession of those sculptures could also have the Mona Lisa.
10. He also wrote poems
Pablo Picasso is most known for his paintings and prints, however, he also dabbled in poetry, plays, and other writings. He wrote over 300 poems.