The British Museum - The life of Picasso in five prints | with Catherine Daunt
The British Museum's exhibition on Picasso's printmaking journey features around 100 works from its collection, showcasing his evolution from his early days in Paris to his final years in France. The exhibition highlights key periods in his career, such as his initial foray into etching in 1904 with 'The Frugal Meal', his experimentation with lithography in the 1940s, and his innovative use of lino cut printmaking in the late 1950s. The exhibition also includes the Vollard Suite, a series of 100 etchings from the 1930s, and the 347 Suite, a prolific series of etchings from 1968. These works reflect Picasso's thematic interests, including classical mythology and personal narratives, as well as his technical innovations in printmaking. The exhibition aims to provide insight into Picasso's artistic process and his contributions to the medium of printmaking, while also offering a glimpse into his personal life and evolving style.
Key Points:
- Picasso's first print, 'The Frugal Meal', reflects his early interest in marginalized society and was created in 1904.
- The Vollard Suite, created between 1930-1937, showcases Picasso's fascination with classical mythology, particularly the minotaur.
- Picasso's lithographs from the 1940s demonstrate his shift to more abstract styles and his experimentation with new textures.
- His lino cut prints from 1959-1962, such as 'Still life under the lamp', highlight his innovative reductive technique.
- The 347 Suite from 1968 reveals Picasso's prolific creativity and introspection in his later years, producing 347 prints in seven months.
Details:
1. 🎨 Introduction to the Exhibition
- Catherine Daunt is the curator of modern and contemporary Prints at the British Museum and is leading the exhibition 'Picasso printmaker'.
- The exhibition explores Picasso's art and career through his prints, spanning from his early days in Paris to his final years in the south of France in the early 1970s.
- The exhibition includes around 100 works from the British Museum's collection.
- The British Museum holds approximately 550 prints by Picasso, making it the largest and most representative collection of Picasso's prints.
2. 🖌️ Picasso's Early Printmaking
- At age 22, Picasso moved to Paris with limited financial resources, having previously trained as a painter in Spain and lived in Barcelona without any printmaking experience.
- Paris was a thriving center for printmaking, providing Picasso access to professional printers, studios, and fellow artists who assisted him in learning printmaking basics.
- Picasso's first print, 'The Frugal Meal' (1904), depicted an impoverished couple, reflecting the melancholy tone of his blue period, and his interest in marginalized individuals in society.
- This initial print was made using a recycled zinc plate from another artist, showcasing his resourcefulness and highlighting his inexperience with visible remnants of a previous image.
- Between 1904 and 1906, Picasso's printmaking was episodic, marking his first significant engagement with the medium.
- World War I disrupted his printmaking due to limited access to materials and the halting of print publishers' operations, but he resumed in the 1920s.
3. 🗿 The Vollard Suite and Classical Influences
- Picasso produced 'The Vollard Suite', a series of 100 etchings from 1930 to 1937.
- His visit to Italy in 1917 and exposure to ancient Greek and Roman art led to a shift from cubism to a more naturalistic style.
- Picasso was fascinated by classical subjects, particularly Greek mythology, and identified with the minotaur, a recurring motif in the Vollard Suite.
- The minotaur in the etchings is portrayed variably as brutal, vulnerable, and tender, symbolizing human primal urges.
- A notable etching depicts a blind minotaur being led by a girl resembling Marie-Thérèse Walter, Picasso's lover, indicating personal influences in his work.
- Picasso's experimentation with printmaking techniques aimed to achieve new textures and effects, such as the dark black night sky.
- By 1937, Picasso had become an accomplished printmaker, innovating with new and interesting images.
- During WWII, Picasso paused printmaking but continued with painting and sculpture, resuming printmaking post-war.
4. 🌟 Experimentation with Lithography
4.1. Technical Aspects of Lithography
4.2. Picasso's Artistic Journey with Lithography
5. 🖼️ Innovations in Lino Cut Prints
- Picasso focused on lino cut printmaking particularly between 1959 and 1962.
- He initially used lino cuts to create posters for a ceramics exhibition.
- Picasso discovered the potential of lino cut as a medium and began experimenting intensively.
- He used a reductive lino cut printmaking technique, printing from a single block rather than multiple blocks for each color.
- The process involved sequentially cutting and printing sections for each color: yellow, red, green, and black.
- Picasso did not use drawings or plans; he visualized the final image mentally and executed it directly on the lino block.
- His lino cuts are among his largest and most colorful prints, showcasing his continuous innovation even at the age of 80.
- The British Museum collection includes the different stages of his lino cut prints, allowing viewers to see the progression of colors and techniques.