Pablo Picasso is the stuff of legend. But unlike most legends, whose reputations are built on myth at least as much as they are on fact, his is one that requires little embellishment.
This is the young Spanish boy who could produce accurate renderings of the human form in his pencil drawings at the age of 12; the young man who moved to Paris, where that early artistic precociousness encouraged him to break down pictorial form, leading him to establish a series of groundbreaking artistic movements (including Cubism) that went on to influence, directly or otherwise, every single one the rest of that century’s modern art developments. This is the middle-aged artist who, moved by both the threat and reality of war, created a series of anti-war posters and artworks; the old man, who, no longer the lothario of his youth, was reduced to rendering himself impotent and wasted in a series of self-deprecating self-portraits in his final years.
Picasso was prolific – he drew, he painted, he created pottery and sculpture; collaborated on film and book projects, worked with photographers and costume designers and designed theatrical sets. His most famous pieces are scattered in world-famous institutions and esteemed private collections across the globe, but the eclecticism and sheer scope of his output means that these tell only half the story of his life and work.
The Musee National Picasso may not be home to seminal works such as ‘Guernica’, Picasso’s searing depiction of the senseless bombing by Nazis of the eponymous town during the Spanish Civil War in 1937, or ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’ (‘…one of the most important works in the genesis of modern art’, according to New York’s MoMA museum, where it is currently held). But even so, this converted townhouse in the French capital holds one of the most delightful and considered of all collections of the artist’s work. To wander about its galleries is to be given an unrivalled overview of Picasso’s career and an insight into the history of 20th century modern art – and it’s an experience that everyone in the UAE can now partake of.
‘Picasso Abu Dhabi, Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris’ is the longwinded title to what promises to be an exceptional show. This extensive (187 works in total) retrospective of the Spanish master’s work is part of an international touring showcase, just arrived on our shores from its first outing in Madrid.
Now showing at Emirates Palace, visitors can expect to see works from across Picasso’s career, from the early Blue Period ‘Self-Portrait’ (1901) to his ‘Portrait Of The Young Painter’, executed just months before the artist’s death in 1972. A special feature in Abu Dhabi is a series of 40 works that are said to reveal (through their development of a calligraphic poetry) the Arabic influences Picasso absorbed during his childhood in Malaga.
Following in the tradition of so-called ‘blockbuster’ art shows that have been big in Europe for the bulk of this young century, Picasso Abu Dhabi is likely to be the exhibition of the summer, if not the year. Miss it and you will truly miss out.
Emirates Palace (02 690 9000), West End Corniche, Abu Dhabi. Until September 4.
