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This insightful portrait reveals brush strokes – and a subject matter – that are far beyond a child who has just turned 13. No puppies or racing cars for the young Picasso; instead, he searched for the oldest men in the village and painted their portraits. The artist signed this portrait P Ruiz, because at this time he was still using his father’s last name.

At 14, Picasso painted a series of self-portraits, including Self-portrait with Wig , a whimsical depiction of how he might have looked during the time of his artistic hero, Velázquez.

One of Picasso’s first publicly exhibited paintings was Science and Charity . Picasso’s father posed as the doctor.

Picasso’s premier Barcelona exhibition was in 1900, held at the Barri Gòtic café, Els Quatre Gats. See Menu de Els Quatre Gats. The artist’s first commission was the pen-and-ink drawing of himself and a group of artist friends in top hats, which graced the menu of this bohemian hang-out.

Picasso’s first experiments in pointillism are revealed in La Espera , an evocative painting of a call-girl waiting for her next customer, and La Nana , which captures the defiant gaze and stance of a heavily-rouged dwarf dancer.

The Madman is a fine example of Picasso’s Blue period. This artistic phase, which lasted from 1901 to 1904, was characterized by melancholic themes and sombre colours.

A lifting of spirits led to Picasso’s Rose period, typified by paintings like Arlequín , which celebrated the light-hearted liberty of circus performers.

The anguished horse in this sketch later appears in Picasso’s Guernica , which reveals the horrors of war. The drawing gives viewers the chance to observe the artistic process that went into the creation of Picasso’s most famous painting.

Works such as Man Sitting confirmed Picasso’s status as the greatest Cubist painter of the 20th century.

Picasso’s reverence for Velázquez culminated in this remarkable series of sketches and paintings, based on the Velázquez painting Las Meninas .