Pablo Picasso – “Le Baiser (The Kiss)”. 1969
The de Young opened its latest stellar exhibition on Saturday, celebrating the work of Pablo Picasso. Entitled Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris, the show is made up of 150 paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings from the permanent collection of the Musée National Picasso in Paris.
The exhibition is on tour while the Musée National Picasso is closed for renovations until 2012. The museum houses the highly personal works that Picasso kept for himself; the prolific artist was known to say “I am the greatest collector of Picassos in the world.”
The decision to bring some of the Musee Picasso’s collection to the de Young was decided over a power lunch at a French bistro in Paris. At the press preview last week, Fine Arts Museum (FAM) Board President Dede Wilsey discussed eating scallops and pizza with FAM Director John Buchanan when their lunch mate, Musée Picasso Director Anne Baldessari, asked how they would like to have some of the works come to the de Young while the museum was closed for extensive renovations?
“We almost choked on our lunches,” Wilsey recalled.
The de Young exhibit showcases works from many different periods in Picasso’s career, which spanned nearly 80 years. Many visitors who know Picasso primarily for his famous Cubist works will enjoy seeing a wide variety of styles and mediums that the artist employed in his work. Picasso was known for saying “I haven’t got a style,” all the while creating works that helped define a new generation of modern art.
As FAM Director John Buchanan put it, Picasso “was no one trick pony.”
Some of the pivotal works in the show include an early “La Celestine” (1904), a portrait of a Madam from Picasso’s somber Blue period, and the painting “Le Baiser (The Kiss)” (1969) from late in his career, depicting him in a kiss with his wife, Jacqueline.
Much of Picasso’s work was inspired or influenced by his love life. The exhibition chronicles Picasso’s tempestuous relationships with three of the significant women in his life and demonstrates how his work changed with each relationship.
Works of his mistress Dora Mar, a photographer with whom he shared a passion-fueled relationship, are characterized by hard edges, jagged lines and angular lines. In contrast, his paintings about mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter, who began an affair with the artist when she was just 17, is portrayed with soft, voluptuous curves and pastel colors.
Pablo Picasso – “Portrait of Dora Maar”. 1937
People weren’t Picasso’s only subjects. The exhibition includes an interesting painting of a cat catching a bird, and a bronze sculpture of an engorged goat.
The exhibition runs until October 9, 2011. Tickets can be purchased online or at the de Young Museum, and museum members are eligible for free tickets to the exhibition, as well as ticket discounts.
But if you’re a RichmondSFBlog reader, you have a chance to win FREE VIP passes to the show, which enable you to attend the show anytime you want, no reservation necessary. We’ve got 4 pairs to give away. To enter for a chance to win, just use the contact us page to send in the answer to this question:
Q: One of Picasso’s most famous sculptures is made from bicycle parts (and is part of the de Young show). What is the name of the piece?
Send in your answer by 5pm on Friday, June 17 for a chance to win. We’ll pick the winners randomly from the correct entries that are received.
Good luck and even if you don’t win, take time to go see this fabulous show. We had such a great time at the press preview that they had to kick us out of the gallery!
Special thanks to Miss B for reporting from the press preview.
Sarah B.
Pablo Picasso – “Les Baigneuses (The Bathers)”. 1918
Pablo Picasso – “L’Acrobate (The Acrobat)”. 1930