Picasso: Consuming Images

Welcome to “Picasso: Consuming images”
The exhibition title is a play on words: Picasso “consumed” images which he drew on for inspiration, and at the same time his images are consuming – in other words, fascinating. Pablo Picasso was surrounded by images from childhood. He regularly visited museums in Spain, France and Italy; he collected postcards and photographs, read the newspapers and enjoyed going to the cinema and the theatre. He fed on the forms he encountered, as if he were digesting them before reusing them in his work in his own way. Enjoy your visit!
Bonne découverte !

Pablo Picasso, Études, 1920

This painting looks as if it is by two different artists! On the one hand, geometric shapes are used to depict objects, while on the other, the hands, face and dancing couple look much more true to life. And yet it is all the work of Pablo Picasso. Throughout his career, he constantly invented new ways of representing the world. Sometimes he imitated reality, but more often he transformed it. If you imagine the walls of his studio, they might look like this painting: covered in works in a variety of styles.

Pablo Picasso, Massacre en Corée

This painting sends shivers down your spine. A group of naked, terrified women and children are being threatened by a line of helmeted, armed soldiers. The soldiers look like robots and there is almost nothing human about them. In this painting, Pablo Picasso was protesting against the brutality of the Korean War, which had begun a year earlier, and the machines used to massacre the population. He drew his inspiration from an earlier work: L’Exécution de Maximilien by Édouard Manet, a reproduction of which is on display in this room. Can you see the similarities between the two works?

Pablo Picasso, L’Enlèvement des Sabines

What chaos! Here, Pablo Picasso borrows elements from two paintings, one by Nicolas Poussin and the other by Jacques-Louis David. See if you can find them in this room. Which painting was Picasso inspired by for the character raising his sword on the right and the horseman grabbing a woman in the centre?
These works represent a legendary episode in the creation of Rome: Romulus, the founder of the city, and his soldiers kidnapped the Sabine women, young girls from a neighbouring people, and forced them to become their wives.

Pablo Picasso, Minotaure

This scary character, half-man, half-bull, comes from Greek mythology. Known as the Minotaur, he was imprisoned in a labyrinth, devouring the poor victims who lost their way trying to find the exit. Pablo Picasso was fascinated by this creature and often depicted him. Have you noticed how strange the Minotaur’s head looks? Look at his eyes: one is staring at you while the other is looking to the left. Picasso combined a frontal and a profile view, which makes the Minotaur look even more grotesque.

Pablo Picasso, Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe

A picnic by the river – what a delightful scene! But why is the woman naked? This question caused a scandal when Édouard Manet's famous painting Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe was exhibited. Pablo Picasso appreciated the originality of this work, which gave the impression of catching a moment of intimacy. He was inspired to create his own version of the subject, modifying the forms and colours. He seems to have forgotten one character... unless that’s him hiding behind a tree! Can you spy him?

Pablo Picasso, Buste d'homme au chapeau

You've been transported to another era, that of the musketeers. Pablo Picasso loved to depict these brawling men in big hats. They reminded him of his native Spain, the homeland of Don Quixote and of Don Salluste, the hero of Delusions of Grandeur, the film being shown in this room. Picasso produced this painting at the end of his life, at a time when he was mainly using bright colours and painting with energetic brush strokes. Might the artist armed with his brush also be a musketeer?

Pablo Picasso, Arlequin

Why isn't this painting finished? For lack of time? No, from choice. Pablo Picasso wanted to show us the different stages of the painter's work: from the preparatory drawing to the application of colour. But it is also a part of his soul that he is showing in this painting. The character is called Harlequin, and comes from Italian theatre. Picasso appreciated his sensibility and recognised himself in him. He even owned a Harlequin costume, and dressed his models in it – as here with his friend Joaquin..