Picasso's Drawings, 1890–1921: Reinventing Tradition
October 4, 2011, through January 8, 2012
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Self-Portrait (Paris, end 1901 / beginning 1902),
crayon with color washes on paper, 12 x 9 3/8 inches (30.4 x 23.8 cm), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.164, © 2010 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York* |
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Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) is generally acknowledged to be the greatest draftsman of the twentieth century. The Frick Collection, New York, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., have co-organized an exhibition for 2011–12 that will look at the dazzling development of Picasso's drawings, from the precocious academic exercises of his youth in the 1890s to the virtuoso classical works of the early 1920s. Through a selection of more than fifty works at each venue, the presentation will examine the artist's stylistic experiments and techniques in this roughly thirty-year period, which begins and ends in a classical mode and encompasses the radical innovations of Cubism and collage. The show (which opens at the Frick in the fall of 2011 and moves on to the National Gallery of Art in February of 2012) will demonstrate how drawing served as an essential means of invention and discovery in Picasso's multifaceted art, while its centrality in his vast oeuvre connects him deeply with the grand tradition of European masters. Indeed, the exhibition will bring to the fore his complex engagement with artists of the near and distant past and will explore the diverse ways he competed with the virtuoso techniques of his predecessors and perpetuated them in revitalized form. Picasso's Drawings, 1890–1921: Reinventing Tradition will feature loans from important public and private collections in Europe and the United States and will be accompanied by a full-length catalogue of the same name. It is being organized by Susan Grace Galassi, Senior Curator, The Frick Collection, and Marilyn McCully, Picasso expert, in conjunction with Andrew Robison, Mellon Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery.
Comments Galassi, "Over the past decade several exhibitions organized both in the United States and abroad have explored Picasso's art in relation to Western and non-Western traditions. The show focuses on this fundamental aspect of his work, specifically in relation to his drawings, where his interaction with artists of the past often first emerged. Our project aims to take a fresh look at Picasso's drawing practice from his early training to maturity."
Major funding for the presentation in New York is provided by Bill and Donna Acquavella, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the late Melvin R. Seiden.
Additional support is generously provided by Walter and Vera Eberstadt, Agnes Gund, the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, the Thaw Charitable Trust, Mr. and Mrs. Julio Mario Santo Domingo, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The accompanying catalogue has been underwritten by the Center for Spain in America and The Christian Humann Foundation.
This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
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Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), La Promenade, 1875–76, oil on canvas, 67 x 42 5/8 inches, The Frick Collection, New York, photo: Michael Bodycomb |
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In early 2012, The Frick Collection will present an exhibition of nine iconic Impressionist paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, offering the first comprehensive study of the artist's engagement with the full-length format, which was associated with the official Paris Salon in the decade that saw the emergence of a fully fledged Impressionist aesthetic. The project was inspired by La Promenade of 1875–76, the most significant Impressionist work in the Fricks permanent collection. It explores Renoir's portraits and subject pictures of this type from the mid-1870s to mid-1880s. Intended for public display, these vertical grand-scale canvases are among the artist's most daring and ambitious presentations of contemporary subjects and are today considered masterpieces of Impressionism. On view only at the Frick, Renoir, Impressionism, and the Full-Length Format is a landmark exhibition, bringing together, with the Frick painting, several beloved masterpieces from around the world. Works on loan from international institutions are La Parisienne (1874) from the National Museum of Art, Cardiff; The Umbrellas (c. 1881 and 1885) from The National Gallery, London (first time since 1886 on view in the United States); and Dance in the City and Dance in the Country (1882–83) from the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Works on loan from American institutions are The Dancer (1874) from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Madame Henriot "en travesti" (1875–76) from the Columbus Museum of Art; Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando (1879) from the Art Institute of Chicago; and Dance at Bougival (1882–83) from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The exhibition will be shown in the Frick's Oval Room, a gallery traditionally used for the display of full-length portraits from the institution's permanent collection. Renoir, Impressionism, and the Full-Length Format is being organized by Colin B. Bailey, the Frick's Associate Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator.
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Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) The Umbrellas, c. 1881 and 1885 Oil on canvas 71 x 45 inches The National Gallery, London Photo: © The National Gallery, London / Art Resource, NY |
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The exhibition and accompanying catalogue will offer fresh insights into Renoir's complex ambitions, when as a young artist, he submitted works to both the avant-garde Impressionist exhibitions and the official Salon. While painting in the new Impressionist style, Renoir remained uniquely committed to the full-length format — a traditional type eschewed by most of his fellow Impressionists. The project draws on contemporary criticism, literature, and archival documents to explore the motivation behind Renoir's full-length figure paintings as well as their reception by critics, peers, and the public. Technical studies of the canvases themselves will also shed new light on the artist's working methods. The juxtaposition of these full-length works of women will bring the glamour of the Belle Époque vividly to life. This format, which bears striking similarities to contemporary fashion plates, afforded Renoir the perfect opportunity to devote himself not only to his sitters, but to the finest details of their dress. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue explore the rich variety of Renoir's painterly technique — the sheer virtuosity of his brushwork in creating silk, lace, mink, and taffeta — as well as the social significance of the garments themselves. From shimmering ball gowns to sumptuous furs, from chic Parisian day dresses to glamorous theatrical costumes, the nine paintings capture the fashions of Renoir's Paris.
Principal funding for the exhibition is provided by The Florence Gould Foundation and Michel David-Weill. Additional support is generously provided by The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, The Grand Marnier Foundation, and the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation. |
