Pablo Picasso and Frank Lloyd Wright were two great men of the previous century. Pablo Picasso was an artist, and Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect. Whereas the two lived in different countries and worked in different creative domains, there are clear similarities between the two. This paper will analyze in what ways Pablo Picasso and Frank Lloyd Wright were similar and different, and assess who had a greater impact on his respective professional field.
Pablo Picasso and Frank Lloyd Wright differed by nationality. The former was a Spanish expat, who lived in France for the biggest part of his artistic career, whereas the latter was an American with Welsh roots. They also differed by their early years: Picasso grew up with a mother and a father while Wright had a dysfunctional father, who was unable to provide for the family and never appeared in the life of his children following the divorce (Wright was 14 at the time). In terms of their talents, Picasso discovered his artistic talent at a very early age and was absorbed in drawing and painting throughout his childhood, with excellent results; on the contrary, Wright only discovered his calling and developed his talent at a mature age. Next, if to consider personal life, Picasso had more lovers and was not picky about women, engaging in sexual affairs even with prostitutes, whereas Wright had a poorer sexual life. If Picasso’s sexual and love affairs got often reflected in his paintings, Wright did not use architecture as a means of expressing his personal life. Also, if Picasso was driven by creative inspiration and his desire to express what he saw through the art, Wright was driven primarily by pragmatic reasons, as he theorized that architecture in each case should be a reflection of the client’s needs, of available building materials, and of the landscape. If Picasso’s art was symbolic, Wright’s architecture was down-to-earth.

Even though the two great men differed a lot, there were important overarching similarities in their lives and careers. Specifically, both lived during the period of great technological advances and scientific discoveries, two world wars and cultural revolutions. Both were geniuses and unsurpassed masters in their respective fields. Both were involved in many romantic relationships, with numerous children. Both presented work that was revolutionary for its time and that paved the way for new trends in the field (for Picasso, it was Cubism; for Wright it was Prairie School movement and Usonian home). Next, both lived for 91 years and both worked prolifically up to their deaths.

Overall, Pablo Picasso and Frank Lloyd Wright left rich legacies in their fields. They both had enormous professional potential and were revolutionary in their domains. That is why it is hard to compare them. However, if that is to be done, Pablo Picasso looms as a more outstanding individual. This can be explained by his dramatic departure from the old forms of art and his finding of a new genre in art, which allowed expressing not only the inside but also the outside, and transgress the boundaries of the mind. Picasso’s impact was so impressive that it affected the whole world and defined the work of artists for the years following his death. Each of his works is a masterpiece. Frank Lloyd Wright was less influential: he remained basically unknown overseas until some of his students popularized his work through their designs. He had an impact on America rather than the world. While most Wright’s works are architectural masterpieces of their own kind, some of his works have been criticized for their lack of adequacy with regard to clients’ needs as well as for their high cost. That is why Picasso is may be thought of as more distinguished.