Picasso would create many variations of his original dove design, some more naturalistic, others more abstracted. Colombe Volant (Flying Dove), 1952 for example, is much closer to the original illustration based on Matisse’s pigeon, with its detailed and shaded feathering. This attention to naturalism breathes life into the work and creates the illusion of effortless flight. On the other end of the spectrum are works like Colombe au soleil (Dove with Sun), 1962 , which features a simple outline of the form of a dove. Both works display the birds in mid-flight with spread wings, giving a sense of freedom and motion. Drawing of theDove of peace(according toPicasso) in front of the war memorial ofSaint-Pierre-d’Aurillac; Henry Salomé, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons In the Dove of Peace analysis below we will explore a brief contextual analysis of why Pablo Picasso painted it, followed by a formal analysis, which will go into more detail about how the artist painted it. Artist a b c Cole, Ina (May 2010). "Pablo Picasso: The Development of a Peace Symbol". Art Times . Retrieved 18 December 2020.

In 1937, Pablo Picasso painted arguably the most famous painting of his lifetime, titled Guernica . The massive work is a chaotic and abstract composition responding to the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by the Nazis during the Spanish Civil War. This work is emotionally intense even to viewers today, and was largely hailed as a proponent of anti-war and anti-fascism sentiment.

For Picasso, the dove was both an important political symbol and a personal one. It was a reminder of his father, José Ruiz y Blasco, who was also a painter and had taught Picasso his early skills as an artist. He had drawn doves in Picasso's childhood home in Málaga in the 1880s. Later in life, when Picasso moved to Cannes in the South of France in 1955, he built a dovecote, allowing him to observe and depict the resident doves. [2] In 1957, Picasso painted Studio (Pigeons. Velazquez), depicting an open window surrounded by doves. This was one of several paintings he created in the style of Matisse, as a homage to his friend and his doves. [8] The printmaker, Fernand Mourlot, described the work as, "one of the most beautiful lithographs ever achieved; the soft tones attained in the feathers... are absolutely remarkable. This plate... conveys the maximum that can be obtained with lithographic ink used as wash." [5] The white dove as a symbol in art is still associated with peace, something that many people do not realize stems from Picasso himself. His choice of a dove, a beautiful yet unassuming bird, to represent something as hopeful and momentous as world peace was a thoughtful one, as the animal brings to mind ideas of freedom and endless possibilities. Stamp of USSR Featuring Pablo Picasso (1981); Post of Soviet Union, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Christoph Grunenberg, Director of Tate Liverpool, said of an exhibition of Picasso's work in 2010, "This shows a very different Picasso, Picasso as a peace campaigner, Picasso as a Communist Party member, someone who was truly committed to bringing East and West during the Cold War together." [9] See also [ edit ]

Through the subtle application of ink wash Picasso also implied the texture of the dove’s feathers, and it has been described as a “soft” appearance. An example includes around the dove’s head, notice the hairs on its head as well as the shading around its eye, all of which appear as seemingly finer hairs. Lewis, Richard (9 March 2014). "The Dove: Picasso and Matisse". Lewis Art Cafe . Retrieved 18 December 2020. The dove print was published in one of the print editions by the Galerie Louise Leiris, which was initially founded by the German Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler in 1920. An interesting fact about the Dove of Peace by Pablo Picasso is that it is a Milanese pigeon, and it was gifted to Picasso by Henri Matisse. Picasso also created another pigeon, which appears more simplified in its rendition titled Dove of Peace (1949).

Many people think of revered Dutch artist Rembrandt as a painter but may not know that he was a printmaker as well. His prints have been preserved in time along with the work of other celebrated printmakers such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol. These fine art prints are still highly sought after by collectors. Jager, Sheila Miyoshi (2013). Brothers at War – The Unending Conflict in Korea. London: Profile Books. pp.284–285. ISBN 978-1-84668-067-0. The Spanish Civil War played a crucial role in Picasso’s outlook. His dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler has stated that Picasso had hitherto been the ‘most apolitical man’ he had ever known: ‘He had never thought about politics at all, but the Franco uprising was an event that wrenched him out of this quietude and made him a defender of peace and liberty.’ (Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler with Francis Crémieux, My Galleries and Painters, London 1971, p.108.) After he painted his famous response to the German bombing of the Basque village of Guernica in 1937, Picasso became a symbol of antifascism and specifically of the struggle against fascism of artists and intellectuals. At the end of the Second World War he joined the Communist Party and attended a number of World Peace Congresses (in Wroclaw, Paris, Sheffield and Rome) between 1948 and 1951.