Cincinnati Art Museum celebrates Picasso

Her early instincts proved correct. Today Picasso is known as one of the most revolutionary and versatile artists of the 20th century and Madeline has become one of the world’s leading Picasso experts.

She served as chief curator at the Picasso Museum in Paris and is now chief curator for French National Heritage. She’s written and lectured extensively about the artist who has been called “the great painter of humanity” and has organized several exhibitions devoted to his art.

Madeline was in Cincinnati recently to introduce “Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds,” a special exhibition on view through Oct. 15 at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It’s only the second venue to host the show, which is linked with 50 exhibits and events at renowned cultural institutions across Europe and North America that coincide with the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s death.

“He was a very great artist and you can always find something new in his work so it’s exciting and challenging for an art historian,” Madeline says. “I love Picasso.”

When most of us think “Picasso,” we’re likely to envision his large-scale work that focuses on the human form. We think of Cubism, the new approach to art that he and colleague Georges Braque invented around 1907-08. In Cubism, different views of objects or figures come together in the same picture, allowing us to see multiple viewpoints of the same subject at the same time.

Why head to Cincinnati?

“The reason to make the trip to Cincinnati is that this is not a normal Picasso show,” says Peter Jonathan Bell, Cincinnati’s curator of European Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings. “It’s a look at this incredibly important artist in an incredibly new way. We were captivated by this unique way of looking at an artist we think we all know.”

That “new way” focuses on landscapes. It turns out that Picasso painted landscapes throughout his life. The Cincinnati exhibit showcases paintings stretching from the artist’s teenage years to the last painting he did at the age of 91, the year before he died. The 40 paintings and two sculptures are on loan from 25 public and private collections from throughout Europe and the United States. This is the first time this group of work has been shown together.

Picasso was born in Spain but spent much of his life in France. Like many artists of his time, he spent the winter months in his Paris studio, then headed for the countryside in the summers where he could paint out-of-doors. In addition to the more traditional landscapes on view, you’ll see the group of paintings that demonstrates his earliest experimentation with Cubism. Those five paintings incorporate “qualities that would become hallmarks of Cubism and represent a radical break with the history of representation.”

A glimpse of the artist’s life

Through the landscapes you’ll also get glimpses of Picasso’s life and the various places he lived and worked. “Landscape is pushing him into new territory,” says Bell. “He comes back to landscape throughout his career when he’s moving into new studios, which he does with astonishing regularity throughout his life.”

Allow enough time to watch the eight videos included in the exhibit. You’ll see clips of Picasso’s neighborhood in Paris, a video of the French Riviera where he spent a lot of time in the 1930s and after the war. You’ll see the famous Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza in Chicago and home movies the artist took of himself, his wife and their dog. There are newsreels from the 1940s that provide a view of the time Picasso was trapped in Nazi-occupied Paris. Two of the paintings in the exhibit capture iconic Paris images that reflect the artist’s patriotism during a challenging time in his life. “A painting can be a landscape and still represent resistance,” says Madeline.

“What do you think an artist is?” Picasso is quoted as saying. “…he is a political being, constantly aware of the heart breaking, passionate, or delightful things that happen in the world, shaping himself completely in their image. Painting is not made to decorate apartments. It’s an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy.”

Madeline is especially interested in the way history has looked at Picasso over the years. Some, she says, have built him up as a god or superman. To others, he is depicted as a monster.

“There are a lot of negative things said about him and he had weaknesses like many others,” she says. “I see him as a man who happened to be a great artist, someone who helped his colleagues. During World War II, he helped painters who were in danger escape. He sent money to other artists to help them buy paint and canvases and he would go and cheer for other artists.”

The artist, according to PabloPicasso.org, produced about 147,800 pieces: 13,500 paintings, 100,000 prints and engravings, 300 sculptures and ceramics and 34,000 illustrations.

This Cincinnati exhibit and its focus on Picasso’s landscapes gives us a peek into the mind and world of a creative genius who changed the art world in dramatic ways. It’s worth the drive to Cincinnati.

HOW TO GO

What: “Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds.” The exhibit is organized by the American Federation of Arts.

Where: Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati

When: Through Oct. 15. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday , Saturday and Sunday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Tickets: $18 with discounted rates for students, children and seniors and can be purchased onsite and online. Admission is free for members. The exhibit is also free for nonmembers every Thursday from 5-8 p.m. If you are a member of the Dayton Art Institute, check to see if your membership level allows free access to this exhibit.

Parking: Free.

Catalog: Edited by Laurence Madeline with essays by Peter Jonathan Bell and philosopher Jacques Ranciere, the publication is available in the gift shop at the museum and online. It sells for $45.

More info: www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org

RELATED EVENTS

• “Art After Dark” will take place from 5-9 p.m. on Friday, July 28. The theme is “Viva Espana.” The event, which includes free entry into the Picasso exhibit, features live music, food and drinks for purchase. “Art After Dark” is a free event that takes place on the last Friday of every month.

• “Choose Your Own Gallery Adventure: You are a Millionaire,” 1 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 12. This tour is free and based on the “Choose Your Own Adventure” book series. All ages are welcome.

• “Create Plus: An Afternoon of Landscapes,” 1-4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, includes a gallery talk, nature walk and art-making activities. Tickets available on the museum’s website.

• “Writing Workshop: Responding to Picasso’s Landscapes,” 1-3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 30. Tickets available through Women Writing for (a) Change.