Over the next few months, Galerie Boulakia presents a rare opportunity to see 40 works on paper by Pablo Picasso that he produced throughout his lifetime (1881-1973) and which have been largely unseen to date. This major show also marks Galerie Boulakia’s 40th anniversary.
‘Journey to the End of the Line: 40 Drawings by Picasso’ (until 17 December) hopes to reaffirm drawing as an essential part of the artist's creative practice. Picasso had a complex relationship with the worth of his own sketches; he was an admirer of Ingre’s principle: “First, the drawing; then, afterward only, the colour.” And yet, curiously, in 1917, he wrote, “one should not learn to draw!”, on the first page of his own sketchbook that he took to Barcelona with him.
This love-hate dichotomy with drawing is not unusual; drawing is traditionally considered an important, primary principle of study and observation and yet the medium is valued as less than painting in the market. Modernism also sought to break the barriers of perspective, proportion and representation for the first time; skills associated with the life-room and significance of ‘line’. Picasso’s conflicting thoughts on the principals of drawing are therefore understandable within the context of his time and work of his peers.
This does not, however, deter from Picasso’s innate passion and skill for drawing, which is evident in the countless studies and sketches he used to prepare for his larger compositions. The majority of the 40 drawings on show are portraits or concentrate on the figure and demonstrate Picasso’s skill for combining precise execution with spontaneity, such as
Portrait of Françoise, 1948 (see above). Here, it is almost impossible to determine where Françoise’s outline stops and the decorative marks begin; even Picasso’s signature merges into the drawing. Furthermore, though Picasso’s use of the calligraphy pen and ink, and their marks, appear almost symbolic or of Asian influence, the woman, her hair, and confrontational gaze are distinctly Western, and the few, fluid curves that distinguish her and make her appear almost sculpted out of the paper are undeniable traits of Picasso’s work.
‘Journey to the End of the Line: 40 Drawings by Picasso’ offers a journey through an extraordinary variety of styles that the artist experimented with throughout his artistic career, and yet – such is the mark of a master – each one is recognisably the work of Picasso, a modern master of the medium.
‘Journey to the End of the Line: 40 Drawings by Picasso’ is on at Galerie Boulakia in Paris until December 17, 2011. Galerie Boulakia is located at 10 Avenue Matignon, 75008 Paris, France. T +33 1 56 59 66 55. For more information see
www.boulakia.net
Image credit: Portraite de Françoise by Pablo Picasso, 1948. Encre de chine sur papier, 32 x 25 cm. Collection privée.
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