AP - When Velazquez painted a 17th century Spanish princess, he gave her wispy hair, pale skin and a cautious gaze. Three centuries later, Picasso turned the girl’s face into a Cubist maze of green and purple, yet he captured her essence ™ that same mysterious gaze.
It’s a Picasso paradox: The 20th century master was the ultimate convention-smashing rebel, and yet he was constantly looking to the work of masters from the past. A massive new exhibit at three Paris museums explores what he learned from other artists, including El Greco, Rembrandt, Goya, Delacroix, Cezanne, Manet and Gauguin.
The exhibit, which matches Picasso paintings alongside those of other masters, is one of France’s most expensive art shows ever, racking up a cost $5.8 million for fees like insurance and transport for loaned works.
Museums from the Prado in Madrid to the Museum of Modern Art in New York lent their treasures to the show, which opens Wednesday. The Grand Palais is the main location, with parallel displays at the Louvre and Orsay museums.
Throughout his career, Picasso kept a collection of thousands of postcards and slides of art he admired. But the Spanish master wasn’t interested in copying them explicitly. Read more...
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