aixcentric

Adding to my post yesterday, which concentrated on the opening weekend, (https://aixcentric.com/2018/06/07/picasso-picabia-at-the-musee-granet/), from next week, there will be a weekly guided tour of the exhibition in English on Fridays at 15:00hrs (entry fee + 4 euros).  French tours will take place Tues-Sun at 11 and 14:30hrs.

I think a tour would be a sensible idea because this is a complex exhibition which I do believe needs some explanation.

Pablo Picasso, Paysage aux Deux Figures, automne 1908, Musée Nationale Picasso-Paris, (c) Succession Picasso 2018

It begins with cubism and an interesting ‘Paysage aux deux figures’ painted by Picasso, as a tribute to ‘Monsieur Cézanne’. Hopefully you can see on the trees to the left and right the silhouettes of bathers, the whole composition and colour palette being so typical of Cézanne. Meanwhile Picabia was also experimenting with Cubist methodology but taking his inspiration from Italian Futurism, all racing cars and speed, and from New York which he loved to visit.

As the years pass, we see both men tackling similar themes – portraits, Spanish women, guitars – with markedly different results. But

Francis Picabia, Portrait de Breton, Paris 1919, Collection of Gale and Ira Drukier

what they did have in common was their ability to draw, especially fine line-drawings for portraits. (see left).

My highlight was the room at the top of  the stairs with three wonderful colourful compositions by Picasso.

But I never really did get a handle on Picabia whose work seemed to change so completely from style to style.  I think I need that tour in English! The museum will be showing a film on his life, during ‘Un soir au musée avec Francis Picabia’ and this will explain his importance to 20th century art. July 12th.

If you are going to the exhibition, it may be an idea to pick up La Provence tomorrow (Saturday 9th June) when there will be a free 8-page supplement on the show.