''Picasso. In the heart of darkness (1939–1945)'' was an exhibition presented October 5, 2019 through January 5, 2020, at the Musee de Grenoble. Presented with the help of the

Musée Picasso Musée Picasso () is an art gallery located in the Hôtel Salé () in rue de Thorigny, in the Marais district of Paris, France, dedicated to the work of the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881–1973). The museum collection includes more than ...

, the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

, and the

Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is the art collection of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, in Düsseldorf. United by this institution are three different exhibition venues: the ''K20'' at Grabbeplatz, the ''K21'' in th ...

, it was the first exhibition in France featuring the creative process of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

during the Second World War. A total of 100,274 visitors attended the exhibition.

Context

The Musée de Grenoble organized their first exhibition of Picasso's paintings which was the first modern art museum in France to welcome a piece by Picasso (''Femme lisant'', in 1921). On October 19, 1926, Picasso visited the museum. This exhibition coincided with one devoted to Andry-Farcy ending on November 24, 2019, celebrating the hundredth anniversary of his assumption of office as curator at the Musée de Grenoble. Farcy launched the modern art collection in Grenoble in 1920 and paved the way for all other museums in Europe.

Visit route

The 137 works (paintings, sculptures, drawings, engravings) are presented in chronological order from year to year throughout the 16 rooms. During the war, Picasso chose to stay in France and devoted himself to three classic themes: still lifes, the female nude, and the portrait. One of the first works is ''Chat saissant un oiseau (Cat seizing a bird)'' from April 22, 1939, illustrating the fear of the painter faced with the threat of a war in Europe with the capture of Prague by the Nazis. Each year begins with a giant historical photograph linked to current events. For the year 1940, Picasso traveled between Royans and Paris where he painted disturbing paintings of toothed fish, such as ''Café à Royans'' in August 1940. Without painting the war, he would represent violence in his paintings. In 1941, while Picasso and his companion Dora remained in a Paris subject to restrictions, he painted ''Jeune garçon à la langouste (Young boy with lobster),'' thus defying the Nazi occupier. That same year, he painted his companion in the paintings ''Buste de femme (Bust of a woman)'' and ''Femme assise dans un fauteil'' (''Woman seated in an armchair)''. In 1942, still in his workshop in the Grands-Augustins, he produced a sculpture of a painted bronze head but also his paintings ''L'Aubade'' and ''Nature morte au crane de taureau (Still Life with the Skull of a Bull)'', a tribute to his friend Julio González who had recently died. This last painting serves as a poster for the exhibition.

Media

Picasso au coeur des ténèbres (2) - Musée de Grenoble.jpg, Picasso au coeur des ténèbres (3) - Musée de Grenoble.jpg, Picasso au coeur des ténèbres (4) - Musée de Grenoble.jpg, Picasso au coeur des ténèbres - Musée de Grenoble.jpg,

Context

Visit route

Media

Notes and references

See also

Bibliography

Related articles