First Steps, by Picasso

I will be writing my first paper on Picasso's painting "First Steps" This painting is on display at The Yale Art Gallery. Picasso’s “First Steps” oil on canvas is on display at The Yale Art Gallery. Picasso has caught everything: the glance, the position of the hands escaping the mother's authority, the foot, the soles of the feet, the toes ready to crush the soil, ready to crush the whole world. For Picasso this was the most important moment in a person's life. Alone at last! It was the conquest of the self that pointed to the future conquest of others. This painting brings back lots of memories for me. I can remember my son’s first steps; as he struggled to stand on his own discovering a world of many possibilities. When a child takes those first steps it is a new found independence for them; also it is a day that parents love, I no longer have to carry you, we think. As a mother I realize that we never stop carrying our kids. My son is 14 and he still gets on my back; but the most amazing thing is, he can now carry me! Picasso was a Spanish painter and sculptor generally considered the greatest artist of the 20th century. He was unique as an inventor of forms, as an innovator of styles and techniques, as a master of various media, and as one of the most creative artists in history. He created more than 20,000 works. Picasso's genius manifested itself early; at the age of 10 he made his first paintings. Throughout Picasso's lifetime, his work was exhibited on countless occasions. Most unusual, however, was the 1971 exhibition at the Louvre, in Paris, honoring him on his 90th birthday; until then, living artists had not been shown there. In 1980 a major retrospective showing of his work was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Picasso died in his villa Notre-Dame-de-Vie near Mougins on April 8, 1973.