Things You Didn’t Know About Pablo Picasso

The most well-known artist of the 20th century was a great many things. A painter, sculptor, writer, and even a designer to name a few. But there are things many people do not know about him.

Picasso’s name consists of 23 words

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan NepomucenoMaría de los RemediosCipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr PatricioClitoRuíz y Picasso. Yes, it’s that long! Picasso’s name is a total of 103 characters long. He had his mother’s surname as he thought it suited him better.

Picasso was ambidextrous

Picasso used his right arm more frequently, but there were rumors that he was a lefty.

Picasso’s iconic stripped white shirt

Picasso’s iconic striped white shirt, the Breton stripes, was the French navy uniform. With 21 horizontal stripes, they each represented Napolean’s victories. The design also made it easier for sailors to spot in the distance. The shirt later became a fashion icon brought in by Coco Chanel.

He was also a poet

After he broke up with his first wife, he wrote poetry and even wrote two surrealist plays. They were performed by Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir as a reading. But he wasn’t as good in poetry as he was as good at painting as he incorrectly predicted his poems to be more famous than his paintings. He wrote over 300 poems.

His first word was “pencil”

The Spanish word for pencil, “piz”, short of the word “lapis” was the first word Picasso ever uttered. His father, Ruiz, gave him a formal education in arts when he was seven years old. Ruiz later gave up painting as he found Picasso had surpassed his level of skill.

Picasso was a terrible student

Picasso was a troublemaker as he was often given detention. He also had a problem with doing what he was told to do, even though he was artistically years ahead of his peers, who were all five or six years older than him.

Picasso might have stolen the Mona Lisa

In 1911, poet Guillaume Apollinaire, a friend of Picasso, was called into question regarding the “Mona Lisa’s” theft. Apollinaire was called into question after claiming to have stolen a few statues. Left with only alleged accusations and no concrete evidence, Picasso was eventually left without charges after being taken to court.

The dove became a peace symbol because of Picasso

After joining the French communist party after Paris was liberated from Nazi rule in 1944, his dove paintings became a vital sign of peace for the cause and for years to come.

He is known as the co-founder of cubism

Along with George Braque, Picasso led the movement in 1907.

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