José Ruiz y Blasco (12 April 1838 – 3 May 1913) was a Spanish painter, an art teacher, and the father of artist

Pablo Ruiz Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

(1881–1973).

Family life

José Ruiz y Blasco was born in

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

, Spain in 1838 and grew up in a middle-class family. At 42 years of age, he married María Picasso López (1855-1938), who was 17 years younger than him. The couple had three children; Pablo was born on 25 October 1881, Dolores, who was nicknamed "Lola", was born in 1884, and Conception, who was nicknamed "Conchita", was born in 1887. When Pablo was 13 years old, Conchita died at the age of seven from

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

Career

From 1875 to 1890, José Ruiz y Blasco worked as an art teacher at the Escuela Provincial de Bellas Artes San Telmo. He specialised in

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of Terrestrial ecoregion, land, its landforms, and how they integrate with Nature, natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionar ...

, and images of doves and pigeons. He also worked as curator and restorer at the Museo Municipal in Malaga. In 1891 Ruiz y Blasco moved his family to

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

and taught at the Escuela de Bellas Artes, and Pablo attended his ornamental drawing classes. Ruiz y Blasco attempted to achieve an income from his paintings, but was unsuccessful. He exhibited his work twice in A Coruña but received lukewarm reviews, which were in contrast to the praise that his son Pablo received for his artwork. As a result, he decided to give up these aspirations. In 1895 he moved to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and taught at the Escuela de Bellas Artes ("La Lonja").

Influence on Picasso

Early in his son's life, Ruiz y Blasco recognised the artistic talent of Pablo. He began to teach him art at the age of seven. Pablo completed his first painting ''

Le petit picador jaune ''Le petit picador jaune'' (English: ''The little yellow bullfighter'') is an oil on wood painting by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, which he created in 1889 at the age of eight. It is considered to be the earliest known surviving work by the ...

'' at the age of eight. His father believed that the best way to learn art was to copy the great masters. In 1892, he enrolled Pablo in the Fine Arts School in Coruña, where Picasso developed his drawing skills. At the age of 13, Pablo started to attend the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Barcelona. His father was impressed by his son's talent, but they maintained a volatile relationship. In Barcelona, Ruiz y Blasco was a model for his son's artwork and Pablo made numerous portraits of his father. Ruiz y Blasco also helped his son to create some of his artworks, including ''

Science and Charity ''Science and Charity'' is an oil on canvas painting by Pablo Picasso, which he painted in Barcelona in 1897. It is an example of one of Picasso's earliest works, as he painted it when he was only 15 years old. The painting depicts a formal comp ...

''. He also rented a studio to help Picasso to work. Later in life, Picasso admitted to the photographer

Brassaï Brassaï (; pseudonym of Gyula Halász; 9 September 1899 – 8 July 1984) was a Hungarian–French photographer, sculptor, medalist, writer, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France in the 20th century. He was one of the numerous H ...

the reason why he painted so many bearded men: "Yes, they are all bearded, do you know why? Every time I draw a man, I accidentally think of my father. For me, the man is Don José and he will be like that all my life..."

Death

Ruiz y Blasco died in Barcelona in 1913 at the age of 75.

Gallery of paintings

File:Pastora en el campo.jpg, left, Shepherdess in the field, painted by José Ruiz y Blasco in 1890 File:Jose Ruiz Blasco - doves.jpg, left, A group of doves, painted by José Ruiz y Blasco File:Paloma con tinaja. Conjunto.jpg, left, A dove, painted by José Ruiz y Blasco

References