Love and Picasso's Stash (of Art)

Nu (Paris 1941)
Pablo Ruiz y Picasso
I caught the NGV's, almost ready to depart, exhibition, Picasso - Love & War 1935-1945 yesterday and it was two hours well spent.

The exhibition expertly humanises one of the most influential and iconic artists in one of his most influential and iconic periods through his ten year relationship with the photographer Dora Maar.

Morrissey met Marr Picasso was enthralled by Maar while extricating himself from his former lover, with whom he had a daughter. He wasn't in the painting mood and hadn't been for almost a year. Maar drew him out of that and spurred him to work his way back to the canvas by way of the etching plate. As much as I love Picasso's painting, I adore his etchings and prints above all else. His curves and lines are so fluid and expressive. This made up much of the exhibition, so I was resolutely impressed.

La minotauromachie VII (Paris 1935)
Pablo Ruiz y Picasso
I am also a fan of Picasso's minotaur fixation. Maar's photos of him and the bull's skull are exquisite and hammer home how strongly Picasso took on this image of himself as half man-half bull. (He was certainly hung like one... I didn't say that... this is art appreciation, ladies!)

Picasso avec le crâne de Minotaure (Mougins 1937)
Dora Maar

Guernica (Paris 1937)
Pablo Ruiz y Picasso
Maar, as well as being an influential artist in the surrealist movement, was a keen observer and documenter of Picasso's work. Her series of photos capturing the creation of Guernica is mesmerising. I still remember the tears that fell down my face when I stood in front of the huge canvas in El centro de arte Reina Sofía. It is an extremely powerful work, and to see it slowly coming together is a marvel.

Composition (Minotaure et femme) (Paris 1936)
Pablo Ruiz y Picasso
Maar was also an obsessive collector ("to the point of superstition," I think was the phrase the audioguide used) and the snippets she kept of her life with Picasso are possibly the most evocative of the exhibition. Doodles on napkins, love poems in books, even a slip of paper with Picasso's blood, these "ephemera" have the power to transport you back to the cafés of pre-war Paris and bring you tantalisingly close to the man himself.

Dormeuse aux persiennes (Juan-Les-Pins 1936)
Pablo Ruiz y Picasso
The exhibition drew positive reviews in Paris and Melbourne is the only other city on this fair planet to host it. Punters have been coming from interstate and, I imagine, overseas to see it, so what is your excuse? Get your fanny down there.


Tags: art, photography, exhibition, Picasso