Happy Birthday Picasso

As Spain celebrates the 125th birth anniversary of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Wednesday, nobody questions that he was one of the greatest artists of all time. Picasso took such adulation for granted. But few remember that Picasso's works continued sparking scandals till his death.

Many of the people queuing up at anniversary exhibitions in Spain, France, the US, Austria or Germany this year would no doubt be reluctant to admit that often, in fact, they do not understand the master's Cubist paintings.There is, in any case, no question that the painter born in the southern Spanish city of Malaga revolutionised the world of art. He may later be remembered as "the great gravedigger of art or as its great fertilizer," Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa writes.

Picasso's prodigious talent was evident from the beginning. His art teacher father had nothing more to give to his young son.When Pablo was 14, the family moved to the artistically vibrant Barcelona where the boy began art studies. In 1897, Picasso was admitted to Madrid's Academy of Fine Arts at the young age of 16 years.

In 1904, he moved to Paris where, three years later, he painted 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon,' a key work in the development of Cubism.For Picasso, life was an endless source of inspiration and experimentation, where he picked the women, harlequins, minotaurs, bullfighters, animals and children who populate his paintings.

He left behind no less than some 1,900 paintings, 3,200 pieces of ceramics, 7,000 drawings, 1,200 sculptures and 30,000 graphic works.