Exploring WikiArt

Every child is an artist.
The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.

--Pablo Picasso

WikiArt, aka WikiPaintings, is one of the best references for learning about painters and their work I've found.  One of the most useful features is being able to see how an artist's work evolved. You can find a specific artist by name in the alphabetic list or search using the search box in the upper right corner.

Take, for example, Pablo Picasso. The page that loads when you select his name has 3 tabs: Artist; All Artworks Chronologically, and All Artworks by Alphabet. Below his self-portrait there is a slider with featured works arranged chronologically. Under the chronological tab all of his works are presented in a matrix and at the bottom of the page is a slider with all of this works by date. Picasso produced an amazing total 1127 works. Any work listed can be clicked for a slide show of larger images.

Also on the main page for Picasso is a list for access to works by style, period, series, genre, and technique. Each category opens to its own slider.

Perhaps the best known painting from Picasso's early years is his "Portrait of the Artist's Mother," painted in 1896.

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Picasso, Portrait of the artist's mother (1896), WikiArt

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In his Blue Period, he painted "The Old Blind Guitarist."

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Picasso, The old blind guitarist (1903), WikiArt

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Perhaps his best-known work of all is "The girls of Avignon," painted in 1907. It marked the beginning of his cubist period and a personal turning point. Camille Paglia in Glittering Images says that the 8 foot by 7.6 foot painting was considered "the most important painting of the twentieth century." Its original title is "The Demoiselles d'Avignon."

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Picasso, The girls of Avignon (1907), WikiArt

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This little introduction to WikiArt touches only the tip of the iceberg. According to Wikipedia:
"They claim to have reached 75,000 paintings, as of June, 2012." ... "The developers are based in Ukraine." The WikiArt Blog gives a Financial Report for 2013.

-- Marge