Pablo Picasso was an artist.
Pablo Picasso . Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon ( 1907 ) , and Guernica ( 1937 ) , a dramatic portrayal of the bombing of Guernica by the German and Italian airforces . Picasso demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent in his early years , painting in a naturalistic manner through his childhood and adolescence . While the names of many of his later periods are debated , the most commonly accepted periods in his work are the Blue Period ( 1901 -- 1904 ) , the Rose Period ( 1904 -- 1906 ) , the African-influenced Period ( 1907 -- 1909 ) , Analytic Cubism ( 1909 -- 1912 ) , and Synthetic Cubism ( 1912 -- 1919 ) , also referred to as the Crystal period . Exceptionally prolific throughout the course of his long life , Picasso achieved universal renown and immense fortune for his revolutionary artistic accomplishments , and became one of the best-known figures in 20th-century art .