Picasso was recognized as a child prodigy at a very young age. He began to paint with oils when he was eight and by the time he was thirteen he was selling his work. At the age of fourteen, he was admitted to the prestigious Barcelona art school: La Lonja. At the age of fifteen he made his official entry into the professional art world, presenting the painting, “The First Communion” shown to the right, at the Third Exhibition of Fine Arts and Artistic Industries in Barcelona.

“Science and Charity” shown to the left is one of Picasso’s most accessible paintings. He painted it in 1897 at the age of 15. This painting was the culmination of his academic studies and he soon after abandoned this style in pursuit of a more personal, albeit inscrutable, approach to art.

Source: Picasso by Carsten-Peter Warncke. Published 2001. Original publication 1998.