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a jubilant bald man smiling painted in the style of pablo picasso

What Are the Major Art Periods of Pablo Picasso?

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was a Spanish artist who revolutionized the art world with his unique and innovative styles. No other artist’s style changed to the extent that Picasso’s did. As a result, his body of work is frequently divided into periods. What were Pablo Picasso’s principal art periods? What events caused Picasso to change his …

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a saxophone player in the cubist style of pablo picasso

Picasso’s Three Musicians: What Are They Playing?

In response to the fast-transforming modern environment, Pablo Picasso founded the revolutionary modern art movement, Cubism. One of his most famous cubism artworks is the “Three Musicians.” What are these three musicians playing in the painting? Having the appearance of merely cut papers, what do they symbolize and portray? The instruments played by Picasso’s “Three …

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picasso style portrait like the famous weeping woman

Portrait of Dora Maar: Why Did Picasso Paint Her?

Dora Maar is most remembered as the muse behind the artist Pablo Picasso’s Weeping Woman series and the most interesting among his mistresses. Why did she become his favorite subject in some of his paintings? Furthermore, what factors made Picasso depict Maar as a sorrowful and broken woman? Picasso painted Dora Maar because she was …

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musical composer creating notes using a magic wand like a conductor

Picasso’s Friendship and Portrait of Composer Igor Stravinsky

Pablo Picasso is a famous Spanish artist known for his works in paintings, drawings, sculptures, and writings in the mid-20th century. He moved to Paris from Barcelona to pursue arts, where he met various artists, including composer Igor Stravinsky. So, how did Pablo Picasso and Igor Stravinsky become friends? What significant contributions did they make …

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painting of the mona lisa in black and white in a cubist style like picasso

Arrested: Did Pablo Picasso Steal the Mona Lisa?

Pablo Picasso was recognized by many as one of the 20th century’s most influential artists. But there was a time when he was suspected of stealing the famous Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Is it true that he stole this timeless masterpiece? What happened during this time, and how did Picasso get involved …

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an ominous picasso styled face lording over a pile of gold

What Was Pablo Picasso’s Net Worth When He Died?

Pablo Picasso is one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century and remains relevant today. Unlike most artists whose works would become popular only after their death, Picasso amassed success and wealth during his lifetime. When Pablo Picasso died, how much was his estate worth? Why was there a legal battle over his …

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weeping woman painting inspired by Picasso's Blue Period

Why Did Picasso Paint Blue Nude?

Pablo Picasso was a prominent artist in the mid-20th century who was famous for his artistry in his paintings and other works. Devoted to the arts his entire life, he produced over 50,000 pieces, including a painting he titled “Blue Nude.” He inspires and influences many artists and art connoisseurs. What motivated Picasso to paint …

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portrait of a woman smiling in a surrealist cubist style with polychromatic vibrant coloring

Why Did Picasso Paint Ma Jolie?

Pablo Picasso, a Spanish artist who lived in France and painted Ma Jolie, was one of the best and most influential artists of the 20th century. He was a painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer. “Ma Jolie” was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1911, when he was trying out the new style of art …

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a set of classical ancient columns in the desert broken and decaying

What is the Meaning of Frida Kahlo’s Broken Column?

Frida Kahlo is a famous artist who is known for her surrealist paintings and self-portraits. One of the self-portraits she made was based on an unforgettable experience that she had when she was 18 years old. What exactly is the story behind her striking piece titled “Broken Column”? Why does it touch the hearts of …

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painting of a skull abstract with hair made of colorful spray paint

What Was Pablo Picasso’s Last Self-Portrait?

Pablo Picasso is one of the most influential artists of the mid-20th century. With over 50,000 works in painting, sculpture, writing, and ceramics produced in his lifetime, he has painted over 30 self-portraits throughout his career. Many wonder about the last one. What are the interesting details about his last self-portrait? What was Picassos’s last …

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dramatic painting of don quixote on his horse battling a windmill

Why Did Picasso Create His Don Quixote Art?

Picasso was a pioneer in the world of art and is considered one of the most innovative and original artists who ever lived. Throughout his life, he tried out new looks and color palettes, some of which were part of his “Blue Period,” “Rose Period,” and “Cubist Period.” Why did he sketch Don Quixote, a …

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drawing of a bull in the style of Picasso's famous bull lithographs

What Animals Did Picasso Draw and Sketch?

In the first half of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso is arguably the most famous and influential artist. He explored several art styles and techniques in his lifestyle that depicted the very essence of his subjects, especially animals. How did he come up with the idea of choosing animals as his subjects? From what animals …

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a cubist inspired design like a cursive signature

Are All of Picasso’s Paintings Signed?

One of the most significant individuals of the 20th century is the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. He is known for his many different styles and for being a leader in the Cubist movement, which changed painting and sculpture in Europe. To this day, Picasso’s legacy lives on. Many wonder: Did Picasso sign his works? Does …

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A gloomy family painted in the style of Picasso's The Tragedy

Why Did Picasso Paint The Tragedy?

The Spanish painter Pablo Picasso is arguably the most significant artist of the 20th century. In 1903, he made the masterpiece “The Tragedy,” which shows a man, a woman, and a child huddled together on the beach. So, what motivated Picasso to paint The Tragedy? And what symbols and themes lie behind this painting? Picasso …

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A painting of birds made in the cubism art style

Did Picasso Paint Birds?

Everyone agrees that the Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso is one of the most important figures in the history of 20th-century art. Animals played an important role in both Picasso’s personal life and his artistic output. What drove him to create such influential pieces? How frequently did Picasso depict birds in his works? Picasso …

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painting of a gloomy old man in the style of pablo picasso's blue period

Why Did Picasso Have a Blue Period?

Pablo Picasso, a renowned artist of the 20th century, had a very long career and tried many different styles of art. His body of work is often divided into periods, some of the most commonly known were: the Blue Period, the Rose Period, Cubism, Neoclassicism, and Surrealism. What gave rise to Pablo Picasso’s well-known Blue …

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a cubist painting of a group of women in the style of picasso's le reve

What Does Picasso’s Le Reve Represent?

Pablo Picasso was a famous Spanish artist of the 20th century who painted, wrote poetry, made ceramics, and made sculptures. In 1918, Picasso met his first wife, Olga Khokhlova, in Rome. Later in life, Picasso met his mistress Maria-Therese Walter. Walter is depicted in his painting titled “Le Reve.” What does Le Reve signify? What …

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a deer wandering in an enchanted forest in the glowing moonlight

Why Did Frida Kahlo Paint The Wounded Deer?

Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits frequently depicted her physical and emotional pain. One of her famous artworks, “The Wounded Deer,” gained so much recognition and drew the attention of the art world up to this day, but what was the inspiration for this artwork? Furthermore, what is the significant connection of this piece to her life? Kahlo …

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Rendering of a steel corset styled back brace

Why Did Frida Kahlo Wear a Brace?

Frida Kahlo is a famous Mexican artist and fashion icon who is known for painting self-portraits and wearing traditional dresses. Something that surprises many people is she spent much of her life wearing a back brace and other medical corsets. How did this back brace influence her art? Why did Frida Kahlo wear a brace? …

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Artistic render of a traditional headdress in vibrant colors

Why Did Frida Kahlo Wear Tehuana Dresses?

Frida Kahlo is a distinguished mid-20th-century female artist, feminist, and fashion icon. She has become a symbol of the strength and bravery of Latin American women. People recognize her for her vibrant and iconic Tehuana dresses. These colorful and captivating dresses cause many to wonder: Why did Frida Kahlo wear Tehuana dresses? Frida Kahlo wore …

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Woman model posing as if she were on a vogue cover with text like vogue

Was Frida Kahlo on the Cover of Vogue?

Frida Kahlo is one of the most famous women artists of the mid-20th century. Frida Kahlo’s skill as an artist and her unique style has made her an art, fashion, and feminist icon, and her legacy continues to live on in pop culture. But did Frida Kahlo ever grace the cover of Vogue? Furthermore, what …

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Girl waving a red flag over a crowd at a rally in London

Was Frida Kahlo a Communist?

Frida Kahlo was a famous Mexican artist known for her bright and colorful self-portraits that often showed her intense physical and emotional pain, culture, and political views. She was also a strong advocate for the rights of the working class and social justice in her art. This has led many to ask: was Frida Kahlo …

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cartoon watermelons freshly cut like Frida Kahlo's painting viva la vida

What Was Frida Kahlo’s Last Painting?

One of the best-known Mexican artists is Frida Kahlo. Her bright and unique style, which was largely shaped by what she went through in life, is loved by many worldwide. Although Frida Kahlo’s life was tragically cut short by her death, her legacy endures because of her enduring artistic creations. But what was Frida Kahlo’s …

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a spooky graveyard in the fog with mist in sepia tone

How Did Frida Kahlo Die?

Frida Kahlo is one of the most famous and important Latin American painters of the 20th century. Her self-portraits and surrealist artworks are well-known across the globe. Today, her art continues to inspire and enthrall people despite the fact that she passed away in 1954. But how did Frida Kahlo pass away? And what are …

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an ambulance in an underground cavern

Was Frida Kahlo Amputated?

Frida Kahlo was a talented artist whose work often focused on questions of self-identity. She suffered greatly with health problems and one theme Kahlo explored was her own experience with chronic pain. But was Frida Kahlo amputated? And why did this happen? Frida Kahlo had a leg amputated in 1953. The procedure was required due …

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A destroyed bus floating through space

What Happened to Frida Kahlo in Her Bus Accident?

Frida Kahlo’s artwork dealt with a range of political and social issues such as feminism, gender, and capitalism. At the same time, her work was introspective and detailed experiences from her own life. One such event was a bus accident that occurred when she was just 18 years old that had life-changing consequences. But what …

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Fractal wood burning of a table with lichtenberg electrical patterns

Who Invented Lichtenberg (Fractal) Wood Burning?

Have you ever seen a tree-like pattern (fractal) on a piece of wood? These patterns are drawn by an embellishing technique known as Lichtenberg (Fractal) Wood Burning. The technique utilizes a high-voltage electric current to burn the layers of wood and expose the fractal patterns buried inside. Do you wonder who invented this dangerous technique …

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Image classification of a large cat with a neural network

Can a Neural Network Output an Image?

Neural networks are popular for image processing in today’s world. It can produce images as the output layer in a machine learning model. The output layer has all the desired features that you want in your image. Once you learn how to do it, there are endless possibilities for outputting an image through a convolutional …

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Ferns showing a fractal pattern in nature

How Do Fractals Appear in Nature? 10 Outstanding Examples

Fractals are complex and eye-catching shapes that are composed of parts that appear to be a smaller version of the whole. If you look closely, you’ll see examples of these shapes everywhere in natural systems. How do fractals appear in nature? Fractal shapes appear in nature as ferns, trees, snowflakes, lightning, plant shapes, river deltas, …

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A banner showing a Wonderdraft map that could be sold

Can You Sell Maps Made in Wonderdraft?

Many artists are selling digital fantasy maps they’ve made in Wonderdraft. If you would like to sell maps that you have made, there are several important considerations to be made. In this post, I’ll cover some of the common nuances around licensing. It is legal to sell maps made in Wonderdraft. The license for the …

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A Wonderdraft map using popular assets

26 Most Popular Wonderdraft Assets

There are many popular Wonderdraft assets you can download to make your maps better. In fact, the community is so active, that it can even be difficult to choose which assets you should get. In this article, I will review the 26 of the most popular Wonderdraft asset packs that I found and compiled by …

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Wonderdraft map added with custom assets

How to Add Assets to Wonderdraft

Wonderdraft comes with many pre-installed assets, but sometimes you just can’t find something that your map really needs. Adding community-made assets can solve this issue, as there are literally hundreds of assets for you to download. In this article, I will lead you step-by-step on how to add assets to Wonderdraft. To add assets to …

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A diagram of the VGG-A convolutional neural network architecture

Why is the VGG Network Commonly Used?

Visual Geometry Group (VGG) is a team of researchers at Oxford University that produced a common convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture. This now-famous CNN is also called VGG and became popular in 2014 after beating the famous 2012 AlexNet in a competition. If you want to know why VGG is so common and what makes …

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A picture of the cabin on Mt Cabot with data augmentation markings

What is Data Augmentation in a CNN? Python Examples

Algorithms can use machine learning to identify different objects and classify them for image recognition. This evolving technology includes using Data Augmentation to produce better-performing models. Machine learning models need to identify an object in any condition, even if it is rotated, zoomed in, or a grainy image. Researchers needed an artificial way of adding …

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A wonderdraft map sized as a banner image

What is Wonderdraft?

Wonderdraft was released in 2018 and since has taken over the fantasy mapmaking community. Regardless of your experience in map creation, this article will give you everything you need to know about Wonderdraft, from features and drawbacks to controls and system requirements. Wonderdraft is a fantasy mapmaker, which is used by artists, gamemasters, and writers …

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The full image of the mandelbrot set

What is the Most Famous Fractal?

A fractal is a complicated geometric shape characterized by its roughness that displays properties of self-similarity at various scales. They are made by iterating on a simple rule in a continuous recursive loop. So you may come to wonder, what is the most famous fractal? This article will discuss everything you need to know about …

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A mandelbrot set zoom with red white and blue colors

History of Fractals

A fractal is a form of an infinitely complicated mathematical shape. In general, a Fractal is a pattern that repeats continuously, and every section of the fractal, no matter how zoomed in or out, appears to be identical to the original shape. So you may come to wonder, who discovered the fractals? In this article, …

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A plot of the Rosenbrock Valley optimization challenge function

Should You Always Use Dropout?

Wondering if dropout is a good option for your network? Dropout regularization is a great way to prevent overfitting and have a simple network. Overfitting can lead to problems like poor performance outside of using the training data, misleading values, or a negative impact on the overall network performance. You should use dropout for overfitting …

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A photo of the Liberty Bell style transferred into Matisse's Woman with a Hat

What is Content Loss in Neural Style Transfer?

Neural style transfer is the ability to separate the style and content of images using a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). In neural style transfer, you have endless possibilities of applying an entirely different style to an existing image. The style can be anything you like, from cubism, surrealism, impressionism, or something of your own creation. …

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The Lincoln Memorial style transferred into the style of Dali's The Melting Watch

Style Guide: What Is Salvador Dali’s Style?

Salvador Dali’s special style is incredibly influential and has inspired artists for decades. If you’re looking for inspiration for your art, to use Dali in your style transfers, or just trying to understand why he’s famous, this article covers all aspects of Dali’s famous style. Salvador Dali used surrealism and symbolism in his painting style. …

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The ruins of Teotihuacan style transferred into the style of Frida Kahlo's self portrait

Style Guide: Why Did Frida Kahlo Have a Unibrow?

Frida Kahlo was a talented artist, political activist, and feminist icon. Her works are a fantastic set to draw on for your artwork or style transfers. Kahlo’s self-portraits are famous for stirring controversy about her unibrow and mustache. Why are these features in her paintings? Frida Kahlo had a unibrow as part of her personal …

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A picture of the Sears Tower in Chicago style transferred to the style of Mark Rothko's Untitled from 1952

Style Guide: What is Mark Rothko’s Technique?

Mark Rothko is a controversial artist that provides an interesting example for studying color in artwork. Why do people continue to find his paintings so compelling? This article will look at the fascinating style of Mark Rothko, revealing how he became one of the most celebrated American artists ever and the reasons behind his lasting …

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A photo of the Statue of Liberty style transferred to the style of Monet's San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk

Style Guide: How Does Monet Use Color?

If you’re looking for inspiration for your own paintings or finding the best paintings for style transfers – check out this Style Guide for Monet. Color is a critical factor in a painting’s style. How did Monet use it in his masterpieces? As a general rule, Monet used color to highlight momentary impressions of real …

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The beach of Barcelona style transferred to that of Picasso's Weeping Woman

Style Guide: What Is Picasso’s Technique?

When people talk about art, Picasso is undoubtedly one of the most frequently discussed artists. Even non-artistic people have heard of him and his works. So what is his technique that has everyone so excited? Picasso’s technique used imagination to create abstract works that explored form and structure. Picasso used colors and brush strokes to …

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An image of the Sphinx style transferred to the style of Jackson Pollock's Mural

Style Guide: How Did Jackson Pollock Paint?

Understanding Jackson Pollock’s painting technique is crucial for using his style in your artwork or style transfers. I poured through all of Pollock’s paintings to find the best secret drips of style and technique. As a general rule, Jackson Pollock painted using a technique he pioneered called Drip painting. Instead of using a traditional brush …

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Van Gogh's Starry Night that is an example both of impressionism and expressionism

Style Guide: Is Van Gogh an Impressionist or Expressionist?

If you’re looking for inspiration for your Style Transfers, there’s no style as iconic as Van Gogh’s. This article is a detailed guide to everything about his style. Since he painted at the turn of the century, people often confuse if his style is impressionism or expressionism. I was confused originally too! I’ll answer all …

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A headshot of the father of fractals Benoit Mandelbrot

Complete List of Books by Benoit Mandelbrot

Benoit Mandelbrot was a famous mathematician who changed the way people viewed and interacted with the shapes and geometry of the world. His life-long work developing and harnessing a field called fractal geometry saw wide-ranging influences across the physical and theoretical world. Today we’re going to be looking at Benoit Mandelbrot: who he is, what …

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A smartphone and some of the technologies it enables graphically displayed

How Are Fractals Used in Technology and Engineering?

The famous images of fractals that we all know are stunning to look at, but you might be left wondering like I was – what are some of the uses of these fractals in technology? How does it affect my life? I combed through piles of science and engineering research to find some of the …

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A warning sign for a slippery slope

Are Fractals or Fractal Curves Differentiable?

Differentiability could be a scary-sounding term, but like a lot of math topics once you learn the term it seems simple. It just takes practice! Since I learned about differentiability, I’ve had 100s of hours of experience with it in my engineering career. As a whole, pure mathematical fractals are not differentiable, however real-life objects …

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A kitten lying in a hammock with the style transfer to van gogh's self portrait

Style Transfers, Neural Networks, and Digital Art

Neural style transfer is computer vision technology that recomposes an image’s content in another’s style using a neural network. If you’ve ever envisioned how a photograph might appear if it were created by a famous artist, neural style transfer is the computer technology that makes it possible. So how does neural style transfer function in …

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A color wheel with fractal properties

How to Draw Fractals by Hand: A Beginner’s Guide

Using fractals in projects is a lot of fun. This beginner’s guide will get you started learning how to draw fractals by hand. Math and algorithm-based art may seem to be a futuristic vision, but it is a growing and widely found concept. Fractal art isn’t a new idea. It’s been hanging around since the …

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A demo of Tensorflow's Playground application for XOR

Understanding a Bayesian Neural Network: A Tutorial

Understanding Bayesian Neural Networks: A Tutorial A bayesian neural network is a type of artificial intelligence based on Bayes’ theorem with the ability to learn from data. Bayesian neural networks have been around for decades, but they have recently become very popular due to their powerful capabilities and scalability. They are considered to be one …

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Fractal Mandelbrot Set Zoom Blue Colors

Fractals in Art: A Deep Dive

Fractals are the confluence of mathematics and art. Found throughout nature, these self-similar patterns are endlessly fascinating, with a wide range of applications. Fractals have influenced technology, medicine, finances, and, yes, art. Today we’re going to do a deep dive on fractals: what they are, their history, and what makes them so satisfying to look …

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