- Picasso's Blue Period lasted from around 1901 until 1904. It got its name from the monochrome blue paintings he created at this time. The paintings use only value changes in the rendering of the subjects. The subjects are human figures generally, and they inspire pathos. Sometimes there are narrative or allegorical overtones, such as in "La Vie," a depiction of a couple on the left and a woman with infant on the right. In the background are drawings of a huddled figure. The blue tone in these works enhances the melancholy.
- Cubism is considered Picasso's major innovation. Developed by Picasso and his fellow artist, the Frenchman Georges Braque, cubism advanced the ideas of Paul Cezanne, who fragmented his landscapes and still-life subjects into planes. Picasso's most notable early work in cubism is the "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," a large painting the renders nudes as fractured figures, and incorporates images of African masks that captivated him at the time. The later part of the movement, analytical cubism, included collage from music paper and other found papers and lasted until around 1919.
- Picasso followed his radical cubism period with a figurative work in the neoclassical style. He created large nudes of monumental proportions. These paintings often express serenity, or a maternal theme. Surrealist work followed, in which the tenets of the burgeoning field of psychology and the analysis of dreams were used to create strange hybrid figures that captivated the imagination and attempted to shed light on inner life.
- Picasso worked as well on sculpture for much of his life. He created a series of guitars, using cardboard, string and other materials, during his cubist period that reflected his analysis of space. Later he created large metal sculptures, including the massive outdoor sculpture that rises about 50 feet above Daley Plaza in Chicago. In addition, he was also prolific as a ceramicist, creating and painting bowls, plates and trays.
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