Picasso's poetry, ties with China highlighted in exhibition
2019-07-15
What makes Pablo Picasso such a quintessential 20th-century artist? It's partly down to the visual ground he broke with his Cubist painting, but some also has to do with the fact his interests extended far beyond painting.
Picasso's innovations in perspective and technique dazzled the art world for decades, paving the way for many of the important artistic movements of the last century.
As art historians and critics emphasize the visual ground he broke with his Cubist painting, Picasso's poetry and other written works are often overlooked in discussions of his long and varied career.
The artist did not begin to write until the age of 53. His literary endeavors resulted in hundreds of poems with a unique fusion of words and visual imagery.
The original congratulatory telegram drafted by Chinese author Guo Moruo, the president of the Chinese Federation of Literary and Art Circles, to Pablo Picasso on the occasion of Picasso's 80th birthday. [Photo by Li Wenrui/chinadaily.com.cn]
A recent exhibition tour, organized by the Instituto Cervantes and the Museo Picasso Málaga, frames Picasso as a poet and analyzes his fascination with Chinese art forms through a variety of documents and photos.
A newly produced documentary, screened at the exhibition hall, offers visitors a comprehensive view on Picasso's poems. "In this documentary of 30 minutes, you will discover how experts of Picasso and lovers of Picasso think about his poetry," said José Lebrero Stals, artistic director of Museo Picasso Málaga.
In an interview with China Daily, Lebrero talked about Picasso's experiments with poetry, his love for Chinese ink and the interactions between Picasso and a number of Chinese artists.
Pablo Picasso and traditional Chinese painter Zhang Daqian (right) at Villa La Californie in Cannes, France in 1956. [Photo/artron.net]
"Picasso said once that 'I was born in Spain, I'm a painter. But if I had been born in China, I would be a poet,'" Lebrero said. "We know he loved Chinese writings and representation, and Picasso was very excited and curious about the old tradition of Chinese calligraphy."
In the 1950s, the artist met with a cultural delegation from China and Chinese painter Zhang Daqian in France. "In this exhibition, we have a fantastic document. It's the original congratulatory telegram (from Chinese author Guo Moruo) sent to Picasso when he was 80 years old," Lebrero said.
According to Lebrero, Picasso's fondness of Chinese ink never faded. "In Spanish, we call it tinta china. And he loved it. Some of his poems, in this exhibition, are made with this Chinese ink."
One of Picasso's poems written with
tinta china, or Chinese ink. [Photo by Li Wenrui/chinadaily.com.cn]
"(The Chinese) are great inventors of pencils and ways to use ink. Picasso had a big collection of [these] instruments. He knew with these instruments he was able to do things different than the Occidental methods to draw, write or paint."
Speaking of the art community in China, Lebrero said his visit was "a good opportunity to speak with the protagonists in Beijing".
"We see more and more very good Chinese artists in Europe. This new generation of Chinese artists is changing contemporary art," he said.
If you go:
June 26 - September 30. Instituto Cervantes Beijing Branch, No.A1, Workers' Sports Complex South Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing. Tel: 010-5879-9666
