I Exposed the Truth About Picasso—I Didn't Expect This Reaction
Pablo Picasso died at 91 on April 8th, 1973—25 days before I was born. He created more than 50,000 pieces of known art and is considered one of the most successful artists of all time. Assemblage, collage, mixed media, and the use of artist crayons are all credited to Picasso as techniques he popularized, co-developed, or helped invent. Clearly Picasso pushed the envelope, challenged artistic boundaries, and opened the door for many artists in the future. He lived a long, prolific life. His net worth in today’s currency would be $1.3 billion.
But he was a jerk. Very few people had nice things to say about his character. His granddaughter wrote a book all about how terrible he was. He was most likely a narcissist, definitely a womanizer, and a violent, non-empathetic, unkind, tortured soul. He used and abused women, often having flings and relationships with underaged girls, and did not keep friends.
Picasso was responsible for numerous broken hearts, devastations, betrayals, and losses. Virtually not one soul remembered him as kind, gracious, longsuffering, patient, generous, or loving. Only self-serving, manipulative, and controlling.
Is all of this collateral damage for whatever boundaries he moved in the arts? Did all of these women suffer for the sake of cubism or oil pastels? Could Picasso have achieved the success he did while still being a good, decent person? Or do only twisted souls have the temperament and audacity to challenge artistic norms? Do only the mentally ill have the license to be a name remembered in history?
The Forbidden Question
The age-old question is, “Do we separate the man from his art?” Is what we create separate from ourselves or a part of ourselves? Should the character of the artist be considered, or only what they produce? Are we human beings or human doers?
I recently put out a reel facetiously giving Picasso advice—telling him that if he weren’t such a creep, he might have made even better art. I hypothesized that maybe his twisted and somewhat hideous portraits might have still achieved breakthrough in the arts but possibly could have been beautiful instead of so beastly, ill-formed, and cold.
What if the genius gifts of Picasso remained intact? What if his drive and perseverance held, but he was a good loving father, a devoted husband and valiant friend? If he inspired through kindness, generosity, and love, what could his art have looked like?
Many who commented on my reel were horrified that I could dare such a question. They told me I must separate the man from his work. They said only someone who suffered from mental illness and struggled with temper could have the capacity to push the envelope the way that Picasso did. That I was presumptuous for suggesting the contrary. He was a genius, and all geniuses are deranged! It’s the price we must pay for the gifts they leave.
But this is not truth. The man and his work are inseparable. The creation is the extension of the creator. Every utterance is a mirror of the soul. All of our pain and our overcoming are embedded in every brushstroke. Every past wound and small will towards forgiveness is recorded in our work. Our wonderments, our questions, our statements, and our findings are visible in our art. We create from inner need and desire. Our taste and choice are reflections of our life experiences. Our artistic agency is evident in how we lay down paint.
Nothing about our artwork can be separate from our being, our character, our essence.
Art and the Inner Life
What we create originates from our spirit and filters through our soul. I would even argue that there is no part of what we create that is separate from ourselves. The man and his work are one. This is why our healing and wholeness is so crucial. This is why forgiveness, letting go, and beholding love are vital. This is why creating is so spiritual and transcendent.
If only a deranged and tortured soul can break through the norms and open up new pathways of art, then it is darkness that creates these movements and new modern art. Is this why they are vacant of Beauty? Is this why our architecture and homes have become do drab and dull?
Even more, we should endeavor to create art from a place of humility and openness to the Divine source of beauty. If the creations we want to leave on this earth open portals of freedom, liberty, safety, comfort, peace, joy, and love, we must be the man or woman who esteems such things. We must be people who abide in love, endeavor to reach the valor of forgiveness, and walk in integrity at all costs.
An Artist's Legacy
We aren’t going to be perfect—not even close. We will lose our temper, make mistakes, slip back into feeling like a victim, and be short-tempered. But only for moments. This is human. But certainly we can do better than Picasso. We can own our mistakes and make amends. We can admit fault and reach our hearts for reconciliation. We can have short memories when others do us wrong. We can try to see the best in others and operate from faith, not fear.
Our art will be our legacy, but not in the way we’ve been taught to believe. It will not only testify to our talent, innovation, or productivity. It will testify to who we were. To what we loved. To what we forgave or what we refused to heal.
History does not only remember brushstrokes. It remembers the spirit behind them. And while the world may excuse cruelty in the name of genius, brokenness is not required for birthing beauty. Darkness does not get the final say on creativity.
We are not called to be tormented icons. We are called to be whole humans who create from truth, humility, courage, and love. And if our work opens doors, shapes culture, or moves hearts, let it not be because we stayed stuck in a path of darkness, but because we dared to walk in the light.
What do you hope your work says about you when you’re no longer here?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
39 comments
Popular posts
Thanks for this Elli. I agree. If we look at a piece of art we can make judgement of it on its own merit – we may connect with it or not and like it or not. It may show great innovation or not and mastery of skill or not. But the minute we understand the artist story and mindset that created the work that can change our perception of it. An artwork we felt we connected with can suddenly become repulsive, eg if we knew the subjects were abused in some way or the art was the outpourings of a deviant sick mind.
It is important to say what you have said. It’s the truth but few are brave enough to say it.
I found your article helpful. I have been shy to put myself out there. I have preferred to just show my paintings. But I see the importance of explaining the story behind the art.
Hi, I totally agree with your post and I love your questions! Below, I have an answer to at least two from an art historian’s perspective.
Also, Perhaps at every Picasso retrospective of his Portraits there could be a brochure titled: Picasso‘s Distorted Genius and The Women who Paid The Price. List all the names of the countless women he left in his wake of destruction.
In a documentary on YouTube titled People Who Change The World – the art historian Will Payne describes some of Picasso‘s best works (in his twilight years) came from a platonic relationship based on respect and admiration, referring to a 17 year old model, (Lydia Corbett) aka Sylvette. Picasso‘s portraits of her depicted, innocence and purity. The art historian, Payne, said Picasso was captivated by her beauty and presence. They struck up a friendship and Sylvette began modeling for him. He loved her ponytail and created over 60 works, inspired by it. The Ponytail series influenced women across France including Brigitte Bardot to incorporate the ponytail in their hairstyles.
In later years Sylvette (Lydia Corbett) describes Picasso fondly, and as a blessing that opened many doors for her. She is a successful artist and Potter in England.
The Art historian Payne clearly highlights at the end of the documentary what a horrible person Picasso was to the women in his life. He concluded: The man and the art are intertwined, and we must acknowledge the darkness and cruelty.
Art flows from its source just as a river can be traced to a source. Even if pure at its source If it passes through a poisoned field it will not remain pure. Are we born with a mental paint brush in our hands? Do we pick one up of our own accord? Are we influenced by the person who places one in our hand and demonstrates how it can be used? What if they are color blind but we are not? The instructions for creating “color” will be different. Everything we experience will flavor what flows from our hands. Art Therapy is valuable because of the insight gained in the exploration of that which bleeds out in our choice of words, colors, images, cooking, choice of lovers, our treatment of self and others. We label those things good or bad through the filter of our own learning and journey. If color blind or visually handicapped it will be reflected in the unique creation of the artist visual reality, their experience of the world. Beautiful words, thoughts, art have come from tortured souls, and cruel destructive words from another, exposed to identical treatment. The brain the most fascinating and complex of all creations. We are not close to understanding completely how neural electrical/chemical exchanges weave internal experiences together producing an external shared product. We ask, “what were/are they thinking?” What indeed! That wonderment keeps us coming back, one piece of art stirs something up in one person and not in another. Each of our comments reflect the diversity, variability and beauty of perception, expression, interpretation and reaction to “otherness”. Perceptions leading to unification, alienation, beauty or horror unleashed through our taking in of brush strokes, colors, forms, shapes. Amazing, bewildering, edifying Art … let us continue to ponder it as we struggle to understand what creates diversity, unification and appreciation among us.
Awesome newsletter! It is validating to read what you wrote because I practice a lifestyle based on positivity and peace as much as possible. I choose to embrace the good wherever I can and to use “bad” situations as lessons to learn. I wasn’t always this way though. It took a near death experience for me to be shook out of victim/fear mode. It is amazing how clear things instantly become when that happens. I get a lot of flack from others about my choice to use my thoughts, words and actions positively in negative situations because they feel I am robbing them of their moments to wallow in or grieve in the bad scenario. However, I am resolute that no matter what happens around us that God will hold us and bring us through it. Some times are easier than others to stick to this mode if thought, for sure, but in my core being, I know that I cannot go back to the negative thinking process. Because I know all will be well and I need to follow the bread crumbs that He puts there for me to take me through and make me better for the experience of it. Kudos to you for embracing what you write! I can hear the passion in the words and can see it in your work!
———
Elli Milan Art replied:
Great Camille! Love your positivity. I don’t think it’s toxic but healthy esp. paired with trust in God and a heart positioned toward hope.
In order to paint something, we have to think about it and meditate on what we are doing for a long while. I always think about that when I am standing in front of a piece of art.
It’s one thing to revel in personal pain and focus and meditate on it and paint it. It is another thing entirely to inflict violence on someone and revel in the feelings and thoughts of that while they paint them in their torment.
If a person is willing to do that openly for show and money and influence, what must be going on in the secret recesses of their imagination! I don’t want to know!
Our world certainly doesn’t need more hedonism!
Literally, anyone who is willing can gain great skill in art and then push the boundaries and even come up with something unique. Is that the defintion of “genius”?
If I look at a piece of artwork done by a hedonistic person but don’t know that that’s what they are and I connect with their art, what does that say about my heart? Before I found out what kind of person Picasso was, I looked at his work through the lens of all the acclamation assigned to it. I questioned why he had to come up with a gimick like cubism, a distortion of reality like that. I held a hatred in my heart for the way he painted women’s bodies. Humans were created in dignity not what he did. But everyone said this was great art! I hated it. I felt and still do feel hate when I look at it. But maybe that’s why some people don’t like hearing that Picaaso was so vile. Maybe we buy into propaganda and hype but not truth. I know when I first heard the truth about him, I hated hearing it, eventhough I didn’tlike his art. I hated that he was lifted up as a standard! How disgusting is that?
I have learned that I can trust my intuition even when I do not understand, and that I will not die if I am corrected by truth. I pray that truth comes to correct me as a way of life! It’s a subtle but powerful adjustment to repent (which means change my mind and make it so I never think that way again). I don’t want to give my time, attention, esteem or money to someone like Picasso. I certainly do not want to live with that artist on my wall. I don’t feel sorry for him. I feel more sorrow for the many people who fell prey to him.
Art is not without an artist. Without the deliberate intention of the artist, there would be no art.
Wow! I feel very passionate about this. More than I realized. Thank you for sharing, Elli!
———
Elli Milan Art replied:
Yes. Me too! I feel passionate about it as well! It must be bc we understand the power of art and despise the idea of it beholding darkness. Like you said the dwelling on the violence and misery he inflicted and glorifying it in his art. Almost psychopathic.
Leave a comment