Pablo Picasso

They say that a dear child has many names. The Spanish-born artist Pablo Picasso's full name was Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Martir Patricio Picasso. He was born in Malaga in Andalusia on October 25, 1881. He became one of the 1900s most important and influential artists.

Young Pablo learned drawing and painting from his father, who was a painter and art teacher. Pablo's artistic skill was early demonstrated and already at the age of ten, he began signing his paintings with his mother's name, Picasso. He continued his studies at several art schools in Barcelona and Madrid.

The paintings from the "Blue Period" show scenes with figures in simplified forms and a restrained color palette. The mood  is intensely melancholic.

In 1904 Picasso settled in Paris, where he came in contact with contemporary artists and writers. Here he developed the "Rose Period" with the subject in a lighter mood and in brighter hues. His early paintings are characterized by a search for expression. The experimental side was intensified and enriched by inspiration from the ancient Iberian culture and from African art, which would lead to an entirely new idiom in European art. Along with fellow artist Georges Braque, he developed the so-called Cubist style.

Guernica

With the famous work "Guernica", Picasso took position for the Spanish Republic. The painting is a protest against the bombing of a Basque town, conducted by German bombers on General Franco's side. It was displayed at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937.

After the war, Picasso left Paris and settled in Antibes and later in Vallauris and Vauvenargues. Here he continued painting and devoted himself also to sculpture and ceramics. In addition to Cubism, he contributed to the modern development of art through the freedom of expression that is so characteristic of his work. He continued to be active until his death in 1973 when he was 91 years.

During his long life Picasso lived with a variety of women. The last marriage, to Jacqueline Roque, which began in 1961, lasted till his death.

Pablo Picasso's birth chart looks like this:

Pablo Picasso, October 25, 1881, 23:15, Malaga, Spain

(Source: Astro DataBank)

The two predominant signs are Taurus and Scorpio. The Ascendant is in the Sun-ruled Leo. Fire and Water are the most prominent elements. Fixed and cardinal signs predominate. Stressed houses are the Fourth, Fifth and Tenth - family/foundation, creativity and career.

The New Moon testifies to an impulsive and subjective disposition and a desire to express his ideas and start new projects. The Ascendant in Leo shows that he regarded life as a major creative project where he himself stood in the center.

IC in the Venus-sign Libra and the Sun in the Fourth House shows his basic artistry and his father's (the Sun's) role in his artistic development. The Jupiter-ruled Fifth House of creativity and self-expression is emphasized by the Moon and the North Lunar node's conjunction in Sagittarius. It shows a creative and outgoing person.

The Seventh House in Uranus-ruled Aquarius no doubt mirrors his many free relationships with the women in his life. This is reflected also by the Fifth House in Sagittarius. Pisces on the Ninth House cusp reflects his art studies and how he all his life searched for meaning through his artistic and creative work.

MC in Mars-ruled Aries shows ambition and a need for freedom and independence in his career, the importance of which is highlighted by the numerous Venus-disposed planets in the Tenth House. Taurus reveals strength, stability, strong values, perseverance, a down to earth disposition and a strong libido. The artistic talents and creativity are very clear from the Fifth House ruler Jupiter in the Venus-sign Taurus in conjunction with both Pluto and Neptune in the same sign. It gives the image of the great artist, who enjoys life and seeks truth, full of enthusiasm, living life to the fullest and doing things the big way.

On the opposite side of the chart, in Scorpio in the Fourth House, we have the Sun – the horoscope ruler by Leo on the Ascendant - and Mercury, both in opposition to the planets in the Tenth House. Here is the internal driving force, the passion, intensity and drama (Scorpio), as well as depth and the ability to penetrate into the essence of things. The Sun's opposition to Saturn means a willingness and a desire to continually meet the challenges. From the Sun there also issues a quindecile to Neptune, the planet of art and painting in Venus-ruled Taurus.

Saturn's conjunction with Neptune in the Tenth House demonstrates Picasso's ability to utilize and perfect his artistic and creative talent. Perhaps the combination of Saturn-Neptune (structure and dissolution) may also be associated with the Cubist style that Picasso developed together with his fellow artist Georges Braque.

The Moon-disposed Mars in Cancer in the Twelfth House forms a sextile to Neptune, which gives the image of the energetic and sensitive artist working alone in his studio (Twelfth House) but with the ability to make himself widely renowned and recognized for his art (Neptune in the Tenth House). 

Uranus in the Mercury-sign Virgo in the Second House forms trines to Jupiter and Neptune in the Tenth House, underscoring the artist's originality and ability to be innovative and independent in his expression.

Pars Fortunae in Cancer in the Eleventh House suggests that Picasso's joy above all was to nourish himself and others through his art, giving birth (Cancer) to his paintings and other creative projects.

A Picasso sculpture in Kristinehamn, 

Sweden 

© Mats Bergman 2013