Lecture (LEC)

• COLL (CASE) A&H Breadth of Inq

• Above class open to undergraduates only
• COLL (CASE) A&H Breadth of Inquiry credit

In this course we will study the artworks of one of the most groundbreaking, influential, and studied artists of all times: Pablo Ruiz Picasso (Málaga, 1881 - Mougins, France, 1973). The materials covered during this course will reach beyond "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," "El Guernica" and other of Picasso's mega-famous works and it will discuss the artist's artistic production in context. In so doing, students will be able to: one, acquire a deep knowledge of Picasso's avant-garde work and artistic career; two, situate Picasso's prolific production vis-à-vis his contemporaries, such as Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger and George Barque; and, finally, develop substantial familiarity with different geographically, culturally and temporally artistic traditions that played a key role in the development of Picasso's artistic production, such as African Art or Iberian sculpture. Moreover, we will also discuss the vast and heterogeneous styles that influence Picasso's work such as the Spanish painting tradition of Diego Velázquez, El Greco and Francisco de Goya; Catalan Romanesque sculpture and mural painting of the 11th and 12th centuries, which he deeply admired; Italian Renaissance painting of the 16th century, such as Titian and Veronese and Orientalist painting, to mention only a few of his sources of inspiration. Alongside the study of Picasso's influences and the development of his revolutionary works, this course will critically discuss the artist's vast impact on contemporary art, the circulation of his work in the art market, and the ideologies behind the creation of Picasso as a myth, a genius, a hero, and a seducer.