Born in Málaga, Spain, in 1881, Pablo Picasso’s upbringing was steeped in Spanish tradition and artistic influence. His father, José Ruiz Blasco, was a painter and art professor, and Picasso’s early years in Málaga and later Barcelona exposed him to classical Spanish painting and the vibrant artistic circles of Catalonia. This connection to both Andalusian and Catalan culture was something he carried with him throughout his life, despite spending much of his career in Paris. The influence of Spain - its traditions, politics, and landscapes- would continuously emerge in his work.

In 1904, Picasso moved to Paris, where he became central to the city’s avant-garde movement. Paris was the cradle of modern art, and it was here that Picasso, alongside Georges Braque, developed Cubism—one of the most revolutionary movements in art history. Cubism, with its fragmented forms and multiple perspectives, broke away from the conventions of classical representation, radically reinterpreting how space and reality were depicted. However, Picasso’s Spanish heritage played a critical role in this experimentation. His deep connection to the dramatic contrasts and bold forms of traditional Spanish art can be traced in the sharp angles and intense emotional undercurrents of his Cubist pieces.

While Picasso’s art was ground-breaking in its abstraction, it remained deeply tethered to his Spanish identity, and this duality was most strikingly apparent in Guernica (1937). Painted in response to the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, the mural is not only a masterpiece of Cubist fragmentation but also a visceral expression of Spain’s suffering. Picasso used Cubism’s fractured forms to convey the chaos and brutality of war, creating a scene of devastation that spoke directly to the trauma inflicted on his homeland. Guernica became a symbol of resistance against fascism, merging Picasso’s Spanish identity with his modernist experimentation to create one of the most powerful anti-war artworks in history.

Though Picasso’s innovative use of form and space cemented him as a leading figure of modern art, his personal life has been widely scrutinised. His relationships with women, many of whom he objectified and dominated, reveal a troubling aspect of his personality. Picasso’s complex view of women, while celebrated for its aesthetic depth, often reduced them to muses or objects within his creative process.

Despite these personal flaws, Picasso’s impact on Spanish identity and art is undeniable. He fused his Spanish roots with the pioneering abstraction of Cubism, creating works that resonate far beyond the art world. Guernica stands as a defining piece in 20th-century art, symbolising both the resilience of Spain and the universal horrors of war, securing Picasso’s legacy as one of modern art’s most influential figures.