A few years ago I visited the Museu Picasso in Barcelona with a hopeless boyfriend that I had at the time. Of course, I had been in charge of organising the whole trip. It was a rushed visit, the Museu Picasso was the second day of four and, as usual, I had crammed too much culture into a very short holiday.
Despite this, I look back at that visit with fond memories. I remember being particularly intrigued that Picasso could actually paint; early studies of his mother and men in his home town were perfectly formed and figurative without abstraction. Since that visit I had no doubt in my mind that Picasso was a brilliant artist, but I had also considered him to be very much an unaccompanied artist, journeying through the heart of cubism, influential but alone. How wrong was I!?
This week I visited the Tate Britain for their current exhibition, ‘Picasso and Modern British Art.’ It was great to be immersed in Picasso’s world again but it also offered a complete contrast to the permanent collection I had previously seen in Barcelona.
Picasso’s work lay alongside art by his contemporary, predominantly male, British artists, such as Ben Nicholson, Wyndham Lewis, Francis Bacon, Graham Sutherland and Duncan Grant, to name a few. Each of these artists were provided with a decent space within a room and an explanation as to why they were influenced by Picasso. Duncan Grant’s wall text was the most amusing, consisting of a quote from Grant, stating that he felt he had actually contributed to a piece of Picasso’s art, by handing him rolls of nineteenth century wallpaper, taken from his apartment, which the artist desperately needed.
Two artists that I have left out of the list, who were also included in the exhibition were Henry Moore and David Hockney, both of whom were said to have been strongly influenced by Picasso in their work.
To be honest, David Hockney seemed like a bit of a stretch! They did justify his adoration with a couple of small, half-arsed sketches but I believe that they probably included Hockney to jump on the Royal Academy band wagon, more than anything else. On the other hand, Henry Moore was an extremely interesting comparison. Enriched with a range of mediums throughout the space, Moore’s sculptures, (specifically his ‘Four Piece Composition: Reclining Figure 1934’ which is a multi-part sculpture of a broken human body) seemed to enter a love affair with Picasso’s pile of detached abstract forms, suggesting the human body as individual parts.
I don’t want to spoil this exhibition any more for you, so I suggest you go and see it for yourself!
Picasso & Modern British Art
At the Tate Britain
Until 15 July 2012
£12.20 for students