1637) José Ruiz y Blasco

José Ruiz y Blasco (1838 – 1913). Spanish painter, art teacher, and father of artist Pablo Picasso.

He was born in Málaga, Spain 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, Dolores and Concepción.

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 lifes, landscapes, and images of doves and pigeons. He also worked as curator and restorer at the Museo Municipal in Málaga. In 1891 he moved his family to A Coruña and taught at the Escuela de Bellas Artes.

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. As a result, he decided to give up these aspirations. In 1895 he moved to Barcelona and taught at the Escuela de Bellas Artes ("La Lonja").

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. 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. He also rented a studio to help Picasso to work.

Later in life, Picasso admitted to the photographer Brassaï 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..."

 

- "José Ruiz Blasco (Málaga, 1838-Barcelona, 1913), padre de Picasso, era muy alto y delgado, pelirrojo, pálido, pecoso; estas características hicieron que fuera apodado “el inglés”. [José Ruiz Blasco, father of Picasso, was very tall and thin, red-haired, pale and freckled. These features earned him the nickname of "the Englishman"] https://www.diariosur.es/.../vidas-obras-sombra-genio...