Interesting Facts About Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso was a child prodigy with a name some 23 words long, a hoarder who kept his own hair and nail clippings, a suspect in the theft of the Mona Lisa, and the most prolific artist in history.
The legend is huge, but the real man is stranger than the legend.
Here are the facts about Picasso that surprise people the most.
Picasso in brief
His full name runs to about 23 words.
As a baby his first word is said to have been about a pencil.
In 1911 he was questioned by police over the stolen Mona Lisa.
He hoarded almost everything, including his own hair and nails.
He made around fifty thousand works, a world record.
He was painting before he could spell
Picasso's father was a painter and art teacher, and he spotted his son's gift almost at once.
The family story goes that when Pablo was 13, his father handed over his own brushes and paints and gave up painting, feeling the boy had already surpassed him. His very first word, the legend adds, was a baby version of the Spanish for pencil.
The name longer than a sentence
Picasso was baptized with a chain of names honoring saints, godparents and relatives, around two dozen words in all.
He signed his work with just one of them, and it was not his father's. The full mouthful, and the reason behind it, is here: what Picasso's full name was.
He was a suspect in the Mona Lisa theft
When the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, the Paris police actually questioned Picasso.
He had bought ancient stone carvings that turned out to be stolen from the Louvre, through a shady contact linked to the same circle. Hauled in for questioning, a terrified young Picasso reportedly denied even knowing his close friend, the poet Apollinaire. Both were released, but he never forgot the fright.
A hoarder who feared death
Picasso threw almost nothing away. He kept old clothes, ticket stubs, scraps, even his own cut hair and nail clippings.
He was deeply superstitious and dreaded death, and he seemed to believe that holding on to things, and refusing to write a will, kept the end at bay. When he died with no will, it set off years of legal war, told in how Pablo Picasso died.
He paid with checks nobody cashed
By the end of his life Picasso knew his signature was worth more than money.
He would famously pay for meals or goods with a personal check, gambling that the shopkeeper would frame his autograph rather than cash it. He was usually right. Just how much work that signature sat on is here: how many paintings Picasso made.
FAQ about Picasso facts
Was Picasso really a Mona Lisa suspect? Yes. Paris police questioned him in 1911.
How long was his name? Around 23 words.
What was his first word? Said to be a baby word for pencil.
How many works did he make? About fifty thousand.
Did he leave a will? No, which caused a long inheritance fight.
The autograph worth more than cash
Picasso was so certain his name carried value that he treated his own checks as artworks the seller would never want to spend.
Most of the time, the bet paid off. The full life behind the legend is in Pablo Picasso: The Complete Story. He was as quotable as he was prolific: his best quotes.
The full reckoning is here: How Picasso destroyed the six women who loved him