Gagosian Gallery (522 West 21st Street in New York) is currently showing “Picasso and Marie-Therese: L’amour Fou” from April 14 to June 25. This is the third in Gagosian’s series of exhibitions that explore themes in Pablo Picasso’s extensive body of work.
Only 18-years-old when she met Picasso on a chance encounter, Marie-Therese’s figure found expression in his sculpture, painting, and sketches. Gagosian has compiled these pieces as a way to better understand her role in Picasso’s life and work. Throughout the duration of their complex, 14-year relationship, a time that also coincided with the turbulent political atmosphere of Europe prior to World War II, Picasso experienced one of the most remarkable periods of production and creativity in his career.
Curated collaboratively by John Richardson (Picasso biographer and friend of the late artist) and Diana Widmaier-Picasso (the artist’s grand-daughter and accomplished art historian), this landmark presentation focuses specifically on pieces inspired by Picasso and Marie-Therese’s passionate and enduring affair. Drawing on a variety of sources, Richardson and Ms. Picasso have created a truly unprecedented collection. Pieces such as Femme lisant a la table (1934), Fille dessinant a l’interieur (1935), and Femme nues dans un fauteuil rouge (1932) have been loaned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Tate respectively. However, one of the most fascinating aspects of this show is that the majority of the work on view is privately-owned or has come directly from the Picasso estate and has never before been publicly displayed.
Ranging from 1927 to 1940, the works in the show demonstrate the full scope of Picasso’s always evolving career. Marie-Therese coifee d’un beret (1927) and Tete de Marie-Therese (1931) are more realistic depictions of his elusive muse while Figure au bord de la mer (1929) and Personnage feminin (La Metamorphose II) (1928) are almost unrecognizable abstractions. He depicts her both in mythological contexts, as in Le Sauvetage (1932) and with loving tenderness, as in Femme aux cheveaux jeunes (1931).
“Picasso and Marie-Therese: L’amour Fou” brings us closer to understanding how the pair’s unique relationship informed all aspects of the artist’s work.
