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The Ateneum Art Museum Tranforms Third Floor into Picasso's Living Room

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Written by Bette Slovang   
Tuesday, 05 January 2010 01:35

Pablo Picasso - "Le baiser" (The Kiss), October 26, 1969, Mougins. Oil on canvas (97 x 130 cm.)

HELSINKI, FINLAND -An exhibition space on the third floor ofAteneumhas been transformed into Picasso's Living Room, which was created by the Company design office of Helsinki, consisting of the designer couple Aamu Song and Johan Olin. This interactive space invites you into the world of the master – Picasso was always an inspiration for this space and the objects placed in it.Try out the furniture, read the newspapers and magazines, be happy and inspired. "Pablo Picasso – Masterpieces from the National Picasso Museum", Paris open through January 28, 2010.

"In the Spirit of Picasso"
Finnish artists have closely followed developments in the international art world and have been actively involved in it. Many of them already became interested in Picasso's art in the 1910s. On show in connection with Ateneum's collection display, "In the Spirit of Picasso" presents works by sixteen Finnish artists who received direct or indirect impulses from the master. There are also ten prints by Picasso from the Ateneum's own collections.

An extensive exhibition of Pablo Picasso's (1881–1973) work is currently on view at the Ateneum Art Museum. This unique exhibition is the first comprehensive presentation ever seen in Finland of all the different periods of Picasso's career. There are nearly two hundred works on show from the collections of the Musée national Picasso in Paris: paintings, sculptures, prints and photographs. They have been selected for Ateneum's exhibition by Anne Baldassari, director of the Picasso Museum.

The rooms in Ateneum's exhibition follow Picasso's oeuvre in a chronological order. The room "From the Blue Period to Cubism", (1901–07) features e.g. the Celestina painting from the Blue Period and a Self-Portrait representing the Rose Period. "Towards Cubism", (1907–09) presents several studies for Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. With Cubism (1909–19) Picasso moved to a new kind of visual language, breaking down the form, colours and structure of his subject matter, making the reassembled image show the subject simultaneously from different angles: such as the face from the front and the side at once. There are also collage works of different materials on view.

The living room has been created inspired by Picasso’s art and life: Step right in, into a recreation of Picasso’s world.

"From Cubism to Classicism" (1914–24) presents an artist who studied old masters in a new light, merging the history of art with modern form and content. A well-known example of the Classicist period, Paulo as Harlequin depicts Picasso's son. The different periods of Surrealism are represented by numerous paintings and sculptures from 1924–34 and 1930–35. An important inspiration for Picasso at the time was Marie-Thérèse Walter, who is seen in many depictions of bathing women.

The rooms "Spain at War" (1936–39) and "Years of War" (1941–52) focus on war through the eyes of a pacifist artist. "Weeping Woman" is one of the studies for "Guernica", while "Bull's Head" was constructed of a bicycle saddle and handlebars during war-time shortage of material. In the final years of the 1930s, the artist also frequently depicted his two muses, Marie-Thérèse and photographer Dora Maar. Both are featured in several portraits in the exhibition.

Pablo Picasso The Young Painter, 1972 Oil on canvas 36 1/4 x 28 3/4 in. Musee Picasso, Paris"Pop Art" (1946–70) saw Picasso continue making collages out of found objects: the sculpture "Woman with a Pushchair" was made of a pram, stove pipes, baking moulds and other junk. The artist also was in dialogue with the old masters, painting the work Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe after Manet. During the last years of his career (1970–73), Picasso time and again returned to his old subject matter – women, couples kissing, matadors, artists and models. The exhibition shows one of Picasso's very last paintings, "The Young Painter" from 1973. Ateneum also presents plenty of Picasso's prints as well as photographs, both by him and of him.

The Ateneum Art Museum is home to half of the original Ateneum Collection. The museum was founded in 1990 after government administration split the Ateneum collection into two museums: The Ateneum Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Prior to its division, the collection contained more than 20,000 pieces, most of which were prints and drawings. The Ateneum features Finnish art from the Gustavian period of the 18th Century through the 1950s modernist movement. The collections are housed on the second and third floors of the Ateneum building. Along with Finnish art, the collection boasts items of international art including works by Vincent van Gogh, Fernand Leger, Marc Chagall, and Paul Cezanne. Producing extensive exhibitions of Finnish art each year, the Ateneum Art Museum adds to its collection annually. Purchases are made through the support of the Friends of Ateneum.

The museum features films, videos, concerts, guided tours, and other special events. It is also home to an auditorium. The building's facility can be rented out for large gatherings. Today the museum hosts the largest collection of art in Finland. It is opened to the public Tuesday through Sunday. Individuals 18 and younger are admitted free of charge. Visitors can enjoy the museum's bookstore and cafè.

Ateneum Art Museum houses the largest collections of art in Finland, including the best loved Finnish masterpieces. Visit : http://www.ateneum.fi/

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