The most clearly defined periods of Picasso's work are the Blue Period (1901-1904), the Rose Period (1905-1907), and the African Period (1907-1909) that led directly into the two phases of his Cubist "period": Analytic Cubism from 1909-1912 and Synthetic Cubism from 1912-1919. Picasso never really abandoned Cubism, and his characteristic style incorporates many elements from it.

From 1901 onward, he signed his work simply "Picasso." Work before that time was signed with his fuller name, Pablo Ruiz y Picasso. Though many of his early works were burned to heat his apartment when he first moved to Paris, a surprising amount of his juvenile work from before the Blue Period survives, and from the age of 13 or 14 on, he can be considered a master of the art.