This is a must-see exhibition, which is being held at the National Portrait Gallery until next February. Picasso must have been the most prolific artist of his time and portraits represent a large part of his work, wether caricatures, portraits of relatives or self-portraits. The selection of great portraits made by the Portrait Gallery depicts Picasso’s evolution in pictural styles and enhances at the same time the important role of women in the artist’s life. Don’t miss it…you’d regret it!

 Amazing self-portraits

I was particularly impressed by Picasso’s first self-portrait… which he painted when he was 15 years old! His painting skills may have been acquired with his father (who, at the time, was an art teacher), but the precision of line and Picasso’s confidence in this self-portrait are quite evocative of the talent of this future genius…

Another painting, “Picasso’s Self-Portrait with Palette”, made later in 1906.

This painting reveals Picasso’s personal admiration for Cezanne, who died on 23 October 1906: As quoted on this site, this painting seems to have been “an act of mourning as well as homage, and it may have been a sense of due reverence towards the deceased that led Picasso to omit the brushes and any gesture implying he was in the very act of painting”.
Many other self-portraits are exhibited at the Portrait Gallery, so you can see Picasso’s talent for depicting himself throughout his lifetime.

Accurate portraits of relatives

I was stunned by some portraits, as this one from “Bibi La Purée”…

As we can learn on the National Gallery website, “Bibi la Purée was a picturesque figure in the bohemian circles of Montmartre and the Latin Quarter. A former actor turned vagabond, he was affable and eccentric and survived by shining shoes, stealing umbrellas and drinking absinthe”. The expressionistic approach with the use of bright colors, as well as Bibi”s large smile, contrast with his empty gaze… I could feel the superficial appearance of this guy and his palpable uncomfortable feeling. I found this portrait particularly touching.
Picasso has painted other portraits from relatives, as this one (1910) of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, a German-born art dealer, writer, and publisher. This amazing cubist art piece hides many details such as the curly hair and moustache in the upper-right of the painting, his watch chain in the lower centre of the image, and at bottom-centre you can see his joined hands.

Portraits of Picasso’s women

Many of these portraits are worldwide famous. All these women, once entered in Picasso’s life, were an endless source of inspiration. Some are painted in a figurative way, some are not, all depending on the pictural style Picasso was working on… But as Picasso said “Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth”. Thus, everything is possible in Paintings! Look for yourselves…
Portrait of Olga (“Woman in a hat”):

Portrait of Dora Maar:

And a portrait of Jacqueline (his last wife):

In the last room of the exhibition, there is a moving painting called “claude drawing, francoise and paloma”. I loved the colors with the simple but expressive and sensitive line drawing…Being a genius does not prevent from being full of humanity, and Picasso proved it in his artwork.

The exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery focuses on Picasso’s portraits he made throughout his lifetime. It had been a long time since I spent time with the master, and I keep in mind this quote from Picasso “I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else”. Picasso will always surprise us! Go and see the exhibition before it’s too late … and share your impressions on this blog !