There's no doubt in the fact that Picasso is a great artist in portrait painting and other painting genres.
Although, when you open the internet, you'll find several theories designed to degrade Picasso, some of which directly refer to the fact that he forgot to paint, or that he was a fraud who tricked his audience into buying his art, others straight-up jokes around about ugly looking individuals as the painting of Picasso.
When you dig deeper into Picasso’s art, you begin to understand it, and why it’s so beautifully weird. In fact, when asked about why Picasso’s paintings resemble those of children, he said, “I used to draw Raphael when I was their age, but it took me my whole life to learn and draw like them”.
What Makes Picasso A Great Artist?
Before we begin, let's get the fact straight that Picasso knew how to paint, he just chose to do it weirdly, and there’s nothing wrong with it.
Art doesn't have to be a certain way, when you’re an artist, you draw/paint what makes you happy. Not to ignore the fact that even when he drew weird portraits, he did it remarkably. Picasso had a striking sense of humor and he is no less than an incredibly skillful artist and advertiser.
Picasso's earlier paintings: : left to right
“Self-Portrait,” 1896
Portrait of Artist’s Mother
1896, Garçon à la pipe, 1905
Besides, to say he doesn't know how to paint is complete folly because Picasso was considered a master of art in his time, he mastered literally all the techniques of art present in his era, and he proved that he was capable of making realistic paintings, yet he chose to paint how he wanted to, and needless to say, his fans adored him, and his art.
Why Did Picasso Choose To Draw Differently?
A quick and simple answer to this question could be that he drew what he wanted to, and luckily he was good at it.
But when you think about it, Picasso was never scared of embracing his inner child. He expressed his thoughts about this in many interviews. Because what he did is not as easy as it may look. How so? It's not easy for great artists like Picasso to draw like children, and the specialty about Picasso’s art is that he drew like children, but made sure that his paintings reflected his talent.
Even though the paintings may look childish, one may never think that they were drawn by a child. Picasso is an inspirational artist who expressed his creativity in many fun and entertaining ways without ruining it. And this in itself, is a talent not many artists have.
Conclusion
The way people look at art is heavily influenced by how media projects the artist, as well as his/her art. Especially in today’s generation, people value art depending on how famous the artist is, overlooking the skills and effort that the artist have spent mastering.
Picasso is the perfect example of this, without realism paintings as his famous masterpieces, he found his way to create value for his art.
I have stand in front of this famous painting of his - Guernica, but I may be too shallow to connect the painting with the story behind, and I don't have much feeling about this painting. Though I'm not his fan, I always admire his creativity and boldness.