Pablo Picasso, formally Pablo Ruiz Picasso, (October 25, 1881 - April 8, 1973) was one of the recognized masters of 20th century art. Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain, and is probably most famous as the founder, along with Georges Braque, of Cubism. However in a long life he produced a wide and varied body of work, the best-known being the Blue Period works which feature moving depictions of acrobats, harlequins, prostitutes, beggars and artists. With his most extreme cubist works he came close to deconstructing a complex scene into just a few geometric shapes.

Picasso's most famous work is probably his depiction of the German bombing of Guernica, Spain. In 1992 the painting became one of the main attractions in Madrid's Museo de La Reina Sofia (Queen Sofia's Museum) when it opened. Several paintings by Picasso rank among the most expensive paintings in the world.