In the year 1901, Spanish painter Pablo Picasso entered what is now referred to as his Blue Period. At the time Picasso was just 20 years old, living in Paris as a relatively unknown artist. Up to this point, the paintings Picasso produced were vibrantly colored, expressing Line the decadent life he and his friend Carlos Casagemas had been leading together in Paris.

But the suicide of Casagemas in 1901 was a major trigger for Picasso's Blue Period, in which Picasso began to paint in various shades of blue, giving the paintings a haunting and melancholy feel. The recurring theme of the Blue Period paintings is the desolation of outsiders, which included beggars, prisoners, and circus people. By 1904, Picasso had emerged from the Blue Period and began what is known as the Rose Period, characterized by bright colors, and featuring acrobats and harlequins. A few years later, Picasso began to explore Cubism, which broke completely from the traditional three-dimensional representation of objects, and for which he became famous. The Blue and Rose Periods can be viewed as transitional times for Picasso in which he moved from the traditional art of his youth to the iconoclastic art of his adulthood.

Based on the passage, the author evidently believes that

A. the Rose Period is less significant a time period than the Blue Period in the artistic development of Picasso.
B. the suicide of Casagemas had an effect on Picasso that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
C. if Picasso had not gone through the Blue and Rose Periods he would have never been ready to explore a new form of art.
D. there is no way to understand Cubism without seeing the artistic road that led Picasso to it over the course of his work.
E. the Blue Period was how Picasso expressed himself artistically during a difficult time of his life.



In this passage, "iconoclastic" means

A. eclectic.
B. eccentric.
C. consequential.
D. revolutionary.
E. conservative.



Consider each answer individually and select all choices that apply.

Which of the following ideas are clearly supported in this passage?

A. After the Blue Period, Picasso no longer painted pictures of desolation.
B. Picasso is best known for his Cubist works.
C. The Rose Period was just as significant as the Blue Period in terms of Picasso's growth as an artist.