Picasso's contemporaries used to say that he changed women as often as he changed his style of painting. He was a real magnet for the opposite sex, while his great muses he immortalized in his works.
Women and art were Pablo Picasso's greatest weaknesses. But his arrogance and famed obsession for greatness affected his relations with the opposite sex.
According to his biographies, the women he encountered could be divided into 1 of 2 categories - goddesses and doormats, while his instincts gave him clues about how to stay away from doormat women.
Although he glorified them, most of his so-called goddesses went insane or committed suicide after their breakup with the genius.
Officially, Picasso was married twice - to Olga and Jacqueline but he was not faithful to either of them. So, who were the muses that influenced his creativity and he their fate? Find out below.
1. Fernande Olivier
Fernande was Picasso's first great love. The 2 of them met in Paris in 1904. She was married at the time but she had no qualms about a love affair with the painter. He painted about 70 portraits of her, while prohibiting her from posing for other painters. Fernande was also quite the jealous type. This lead to a number of scandals between the 2, with Picasso ultimately abandoning her.
2. Eva Gouel
Picasso often called her "Eve" - after the first woman from the Bible. The 2 of them fell in love shortly after they met. Picasso left Fernande because of her, while Eva left a Polish painter. The portraits Picasso painted of her were vibrant and colorful, showing that he felt happy with her. However, Eva Gouel would fall ill from tuberculosis and die several months after they first met.
3. Olga Khokhlova
Picasso's first wife was a ballerina. The 2 were introduced to one another by their mutual friend Jean Cocteau during the Parade ballet in Rome. One year layer the 2 married in Paris. But after the birth of their first child, Paulo, the spark between them died. What followed were daily scandals, provoked by jealousy, and Picasso ultimately left her for his 17-year-old lover.
4. Marie-Thérèse Walter
Picasso became convinced that Marie-Thérèse was the love of his life. He adored her blue eyes. The 2 of them tried all kinds of experiments in and out of bed. When she gave birth, Picasso's strong passions once again began to cool. Just 1 year after he swore his love for Marie-Thérèse he found a new lover - Dora Maar. Marie-Thérèse did not give up on their relationship and even put up with the fact that he slept with another woman as well. 4 years after Picasso's death she committed suicide.
5. Dora Maar
Dora was a talented artist and photographer, but when she met Picasso her creative work was left in the shadows. He did not leave Marie-Thérèse but kept going from one to the other. Once, the 2 met in his studio and when they made him choose between them he told them to figure it out themselves and they began fighting. Picasso and Dora's relationship suffered many shocks but she was firm in standing by him. Picasso eventually left her for Françoise Gilot, while Dora made several suicide attempts before she wound up in a mental ward.
6. Françoise Gilot
Picasso was 60 years old when he met Françoise, she was 20. She was not like his other women, whom he could order around and who obsessed over him. With Françoise there was a turning point and Picasso began to stalk her every move. His crudity and delusions of grandeur did not change. Even after they had 2 kids, the classy Frenchwoman decided not to put up with his crude manners any longer and left him. As with every of the artist's breakups, this one too ended with scandals and insults. Several years later, Françoise wrote the book Life with Picasso, in which she described him as a despot and tyrant.
7. Jacqueline Roque
Abandoned and lonely, Picasso met Jacqueline, a woman 40 years his junior. He married her and since he was at an advanced age, he allowed her to care for him. She took up the house work, finances, even kept track of the artist's contacts. She prohibited his former wives and children from seeing him. They lived together 20 years and after the genius died, she committed suicide.
