The exhibition PABLO PICASSO - PRINTS, CERAMICS, ARRASES at the Theatrical Museum in Warsaw brings together selected prints by the artist (from series like CORPS PERDU, DANS L'ATELIER DE PICASSO, LA TAUROMAQUIA, EL ENTIERRO DEL CONDE DE ORGAZ), 24 ceramic objects, 5 arrases by the painter's granddaughter Marina Picasso, and several dozen posters of original design.
Pablo Picasso,
"Visage de profil", 1953
The most important section of the exhibition consists of 194 prints by Picasso, who was indubitably one of the most outstanding graphic artists of the 20th century and clearly the most technically and stylistically versatile graphic artist in the entire history of the medium. He perfected his abilities in a range of techniques, which individually required entirely different skills, emotional approaches, and working methods. Picasso applied himself to copperplate engraving and mezzotints, etchings and dry-point engraving, aquatints, lithographs, woodcuts and linoleum-block prints, and even dabbled in methods like soft varnishing and chipping that appear rarely in the history of the graphic arts.
After experimenting with printmaking techniques during his youth, Picasso's creativity in this realm truly exploded in the 1930s. It was at this time that he produced one of the most interesting print projects of the 20th century: on the suggestion of the famous dealer and publisher, Ambroise Vollard, Picasso created a series of engravings that later came to be called the "Vollard Suite." Consisting of works on a wide range of subjects, the series was truly the tour de force of a mature graphic artist. It was in this series that Picasso attempted, among other things, to draw on the prints of Rembrandt. During this same period, Picasso created another of his print masterpieces - a series of illustrations to Honoré de Balzac's "The Unknown Masterpiece." The story of one that creates voraciously, possesses a self-awareness of his genius yet an inability to complete a masterpiece, it seemed as if created specifically for Picasso.
Another of Picasso's renowned works was his series of etchings to Buffon's "Natural History" (created in 1937 but not published until 1942), another one of Vollard's commissions, which came after the artist's famous Minotauromachy and directly before Guernica. During this most fertile period in his career, Picasso willingly created illustrations to the Greek Classics - Ovid's "Metamorphoses" (1930) and "Lysistrata" by Aristophanes (1934) - however, these are far from strictly Classical in style. Instead, the artist has tried to imagine the archaic world on his own - imagine its licentiousness, even brutality, but equally its beauty - without attempting directly to imitate the art of former times.
Pablo Picasso,
"Visage de Femme sur Fonde Raye"
The exhibition also includes five rarely exhibited arrases, reproductions of the famous paintings BUSTE DE FEMME, VISAGE DE FEMME SUR FONDE RAYE, NATURE MORTE, FEMME AU BALCON, and FEMME AU CHAPEAU BLUE. This collection of tapestries was produced and is owned by the painter's granddaughter, Marina Picasso, who obtained the artist's permission to create the woven works. The Picasso paintings reproduced in the arrases are from the later Cubist period and part of a series of variations on women, created by the painter between 1931 and 1939 in honor of his female companions, Maria Teresa Walter and Dora Maar.
Ceramics were a very important medium for Pablo Picasso and his works in this realm are highly valued. The artist retained a passion for ceramics over many decades, designing ornamentation in a style of his own, but also creating new spatial forms in his ceramic sculptures.
It was in the realm of ceramics that the artist made a series of important artistic innovations; this medium allowed him to fulfill different desires that had always informed his work. Ceramics combines painting and sculpture, and additionally had a functional dimension that the artist valued so highly. Throughout his life, Picasso wanted his art to play a part in life in the simple sense of the term. He exhibited a true penchant for creating pots, pitchers, punch bowls, and plates, all of which were at one time the subjects of his still life paintings.
The collection of ceramic items on view numbers 24 pieces, some created by the artist himself, others under his direct supervision. All of them derive from the collection of Suzanne and Alain Ramié, who themselves participated in the work done at the famous Poterie Madoura studio.
All of the works on view are post-World War II and show the artist to be unpredictable, constantly exploring and experimenting, supremely versatile in terms of style and the techniques he used. The organizers of the exhibition have also set up a "biographical" section that offers extensive information on the artist's life and includes a display of unique photographs by Picasso's friend, Andre Villars, depicting the artist at work and in moments of privacy.
Exhibition opening: September 20, 2002, 7 p.m.
The Theatrical Museum
(Muzeum Teatralne)
pl. Teatralny 1, Warsaw
tel. (+48 22) 692 05 60
www.kontakt.gda.pl