I recently heard a story about Pablo Picasso that has me thinking. The story goes that Picasso, in his eighties at the time, was drinking at a bar in Paris when a woman recognized him and asked if he would sketch something for her on a napkin. He obliged and did a quick sketch (perhaps similar to the one shown below). She was very excited but instead of him handing it back when he was done, he apparently tried to charge her a couple thousand dollars. When she objected and said it only took a moment to sketch, he replied “No, it took me forty years.”
What!? Okay, okay, I get it. He’s world famous. Everyone thinks he’s the shiz. He spent decades mastering his craft. He wouldn’t be where he was in his career without those forty years of work and practice. But really? Could he sound like a bigger dick? Speaking of dick, one of Picasso’s most famous works depicts a woman with a dick on her face. Seriously! A dick on her face. See below.
Now, you may feel that I don’t have a right to talk shit about a “Master Painter”. I probably don’t. Since I can remember, I was told that Picasso was a genius. He broke the boundaries. You can’t go through an Art History or Art Appreciation class without getting more than your fill of all things Picasso. I have yet to be convinced. I tried. I really did.
I relate this same feeling to being a little girl and my mom serving me liver and onions. I would cry and say I didn’t like it and refuse to eat it. She would tell me that if I put ketchup on it, I would never know that it was liver and it would taste good. Now I’m telling you, ketchup or no ketchup. It tasted like shit. You get where I’m going with this…
Picasso was a master. He put ketchup on the world of shitty art and made it taste good to his audience. Kudos to him. However, I can’t bear the thought that he was so conceited to try to charge a woman in a bar an exorbitant amount of money for something so simple. Yes, yes. She probably would have turned around and sold it for a large profit and Picasso was no fool. He would have been aware of this. So, if this story is true, why not just say “no” to this poor woman. Did you want to get her hopes up only to make a fool of her? I have made up my mind.
Pablo Picasso was an asshole.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter, but please don’t try to convince me otherwise.
Thank you.