13. The Boyhood of Pablo Picasso

13. The Boyhood of Pablo Picasso

Pablo Ruiz Picasso was the favourite child of his family. He was the only boy among a great many girl cousins. That was enough to make him important, but his father loved him especially, because he knew his son was going to be an artist. Pablo knew the word for pencil even before he could say Mamma and Papa. When he was small he spent hours by himself making delightful little drawings of animals and people. If his mother sent him out to play in the square, he went on drawing in the dust under the trees. One of his favourite models was his younger sister, Lola.

Don Jose Ruiz, Pablo's father, was director of the museum at Malaga in southern Spain. He earned only a small salary, but there was not much work to do and he was able to practise his hobby, which was painting pigeons. Don Jose loved pigeons very much. He painted them dead or alive in ones and twos and in dozens. Sometimes he painted them on paper, cut them out and stuck them on to canvas; sometimes he stuck real feathers on to his pictures. He knew a great deal about the technique of painting and he taught it all to Pablo.

Life in Malaga was very pleasant. In the hot, Mediterranean sunshine father and son would walk down to the beach to look at the boats on the shore or wander round the open markets. They made a strange pair. Don Jose was tall and thin, with red hair and beard, sad grey eyes and a fine set of whiskers. He was so shy and correct that he was nicknamed "the Englishman". Pablo was quite the opposite. He had his mother's small, strong build; he had straight black hair, and bright black eyes that noticed everything that was going on around him.