|
|
 |
| |
Picasso’s little-known animal period unveiled
Joan Podel has helped organise a exhibition of some of Picasso’s lesser-know art, writes Peter Gruner
PICASSO’S painting of his lover, Dora Maar and her Cat, sold at auction in New York earlier this year for a record £51.8 million. However, although Dora is prominent in the portrait, bought by a mystery buyer, the black moggy is very much a small background figure.
Now all that has changed and art lovers have the opportunity this week to come up to Highgate and view Picasso’s rarely seen expressive animal etchings.
The famous artist is better known for his Blue and Rose periods and his colourful abstracts, but here is another lesser-known side of Picasso, depicting his fascination with the animal kingdom.
The free exhibition Histoire Naturelle – a national Touring Exhibition from the Hayward Gallery – has just opened at the Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution in South Grove.
It consists of a series of 31 images considered by many to be one of Picasso’s most important graphic productions. In the drawings, the artist depicts animals, birds, insects and other creatures with not a human among them.
They were begun in 1936 for the picture dealer and publisher Ambroise Vollard and completed in 1942. Picasso created these images to accompany the classic 18th-century text Histoire Naturelle, by the eminent French naturalist, George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon.
Joan Podel, who helped organise the exhibition on behalf of the institution, said she has been in love with Picasso’s work ever since she was a young woman.
“When I was growing up in New York there was always an exhibition or something going on about Picasso,” she says.
“Who would have thought all those years ago I would be surrounded by and invigilating a Picasso exhibition here in Highgate. It’s a great honour for me to be surrounded by his work.”
Joan, who is a semi-professional artist, described the exhibition as a gift to the community and hoped as many people as possible come and see it.
“I’ve got several favourite animals,” she added. “I like the ostrich because it is almost a cartoon figure and seems to represent speed.
“And I’m a great fan of the bull. Picasso admired the bull of course and went to a lot of bullfights. This one has great features and personality.
“I didn’t know this exhibition existed until a year ago when we received information from the Hayward. Picasso is such an amazing artist who has such a wide and diverse range from pottery, sculpture and abstract to these animal drawings.”
When Picasso began working on the bestiary he summoned up images from his imagination rather than direct study from nature.
The technical range of the series is also wide and inventive. Picasso was introduced to the ‘sugar lift’ process, in which the artist is able to work directly onto the etching plate using a sticky sugar-water solution mixed with black paint, enabling the artist to see exactly which areas will print black.
He freely developed the technique for expressive effect, using brush, pen and his fingers to apply the sugar mixture. For areas of grainy texture, Picasso used sandpaper directly onto the plate and for highlights, scrapers and burnishers.
The high-flown prose of Buffon’s work together with Picasso’s vigorous and seemingly spontaneous images make a fascinating and humorous marriage.
|
| |
|
|
|
