Picasso hanging alongside the Old Masters at the Grand Palais
The Picasso exhibition, an unprecedented event this fall held at the national art gallery of the Paris Grand Palais, juxtaposes in 120 masterpieces, a hundred or so Picasso canvasses (without mentioning drawings and engravings) that are hanging alongside the works of the « old Masters ». This superb rereading of masterpieces of the past is considered to be the special event of the season, bringing face to face the Old vs. the modern Masters.Picasso, the inventor of Cubism and the most creative of the 20th century painters, took his inspiration from the great classical painters, admitting his indebtedness to the masters of the past such as Velasquez, Goya or Greco to Ingres, Delacroix or Manet, among others.
Masterpieces on loan from the most prestigious museums
This juxtaposition of masterpieces would not have been possible without the support of museums throughout the world. The masterpieces of Poussin, le Nain, Greco, David, Ingres, Murillo, Velasquez, Goya were lent by the world’s most prestigious museums. The Louvre museum contribution is the presentation, in the Denon Salon, of Picasso’s variations of Delacroix’s « Women of Algiers ». The Orsay Museum offers Picasso’s variations of Manet’s « The lunch on the grass ». These collections would not have been possible without the sponsorship of LVMH.
Picasso, a legend, pictorial cannibalism
Picasso is a legend, a painter with extraordinary talent. He can be compared to a Michelangelo or to a Leonardo daVinci.
He excels in all different periods of art and with all kinds of materials (oil, ceramics, lithography…)
He is also one of few to establish a link between modern and contemporary art.
In this exhibition, Picasso reveals to us his talent to cannibalize a work of art and make it his own by reinterpreting it in his own pictorial language. In fact, he admitted in 1935 «that he destroyed what he liked».
In fact, he destroyed to better rework. His famous « Ménines » (1957) of the Vélasquez painting is a real pictorial cannibalism, where in 44 paintings he staged the famous infanta whom he made his main character. The same for Ingres’ « The great odalisque » and Manet’s « The lunch on the grass » (1960/61), Poussin’s « The abduction of the Sabine women » (1962/63), Goya’s « The nude Maja », Titien’s « Venus », and many others that he reinterpreted with his own codes.
Picasso is a 21st century genius. This ogre of painting who escapes all classification, proves by his way of transcending the content and form of the masterpieces of «Masters», one thing that is for sure is that there is no one like Picasso.
This juxtaposition of masterpieces would not have been possible without the support of museums throughout the world. The masterpieces of Poussin, le Nain, Greco, David, Ingres, Murillo, Velasquez, Goya were lent by the world’s most prestigious museums. The Louvre museum contribution is the presentation, in the Denon Salon, of Picasso’s variations of Delacroix’s « Women of Algiers ». The Orsay Museum offers Picasso’s variations of Manet’s « The lunch on the grass ». These collections would not have been possible without the sponsorship of LVMH.
Picasso, a legend, pictorial cannibalism
Picasso is a legend, a painter with extraordinary talent. He can be compared to a Michelangelo or to a Leonardo daVinci.
He excels in all different periods of art and with all kinds of materials (oil, ceramics, lithography…)
He is also one of few to establish a link between modern and contemporary art.
In this exhibition, Picasso reveals to us his talent to cannibalize a work of art and make it his own by reinterpreting it in his own pictorial language. In fact, he admitted in 1935 «that he destroyed what he liked».
In fact, he destroyed to better rework. His famous « Ménines » (1957) of the Vélasquez painting is a real pictorial cannibalism, where in 44 paintings he staged the famous infanta whom he made his main character. The same for Ingres’ « The great odalisque » and Manet’s « The lunch on the grass » (1960/61), Poussin’s « The abduction of the Sabine women » (1962/63), Goya’s « The nude Maja », Titien’s « Venus », and many others that he reinterpreted with his own codes.
Picasso is a 21st century genius. This ogre of painting who escapes all classification, proves by his way of transcending the content and form of the masterpieces of «Masters», one thing that is for sure is that there is no one like Picasso.
Novembre 2008
