Picasso ~ Painting Against Time ~ at Albertina Museum Wien

Written by Jim Lancaster Monday, 21 May 2012 22:58

Vienna, Austria - Nobody has marked the art of the 20th century more lastingly than Pablo Picasso.  Amongst the many phases and stylistic periods of his creative output, the late works take a special position.  The exhibition in the Albertina is especially devoted to this period.  Werner Spies, former director of the Centre Pompidou in Paris and one of the most renowned Picasso researchers nowadays, has functioned as its curator.  On exhibition 22 September 2006 – 7 January 2007.

More than 200 works from some 60 lenders, including paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures, document Picasso’s specific working processes and the uniqueness of the style in his late art, focusing on the dialectics of painting and drawing: the masterfully quick, “wild” and infinitely sensual paintings are contrasted by the meticulous and detailed drawings.  It is an exciting dialogue, showing the greatest artist of the 20th century racing against time.

Lenders: Musée Picasso, Paris; Bernard Picasso, Metropolitan Museum, and Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid; Fondation Beyerler and Kunstmuseum, Basel; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Museum Frieder Burda, Baden- Baden; as well as numerous private collections.

Werner Spies on the exhibition Picasso

Picasso – Painting Against Time :

A STYLE OF PAINTING, A STYLE OF DRAWING

The »topicality« of Picasso’s late work, which is referred to in numerous exhibitions to authorize the art scene’s wild and expressive manner of painting, seems superficial, even a fake.  Something decisive is being overlooked here: the »wild« Picasso had always, even during his very last years, had a reflective counterpart employing his memory and craft masterfully in the drawings.  The contrast we encounter is so conspicuous and so significant that one feels bound to find a plausible reason for it.  Obviously, Picasso’s distinction between a painter’s and a draughtsman’s style may be explained by his panic fear of time running out.

A RACE AGAINST DEATH

Horror of and resistance against old age and death were reflected in the organization of working time.  The work Picasso accomplished day after day seems to have been a rebellion against temporality and disappearance.  This utilization of time leads us back to the »time in Mougins«, into the studio of Notre-Dame-de-Vie.  One has the impression that the constant glimpse at the clock was in the foreground.  To each of the daily performances in front of the easel or on the drawing sheet, the artist used to assign a certain amount of time.  Starting out from this ever identical amount of time the artist invested in a work, a painting, drawing, etching, or sculpture was created.  Thus the challenge the artist faced in the case of a large-sized canvas painting was much greater in terms of scope and organization than that of a drawing.

RESTLESS CANVAS PAINTING

That is why, taking this rule into account, a painting, for which there was not more time available than for an etching, could not be treated with the same meticulousness we generally encounter in the late graphic works.  Restlessness was meant to exorcise death: this is illustrated by the late works that cling to sensuality and embrace with every fiber and display kissing and copulation as close-ups.  We recognize a type of frenzy that is in no way inferior to Pollock’s or De Kooning’s.  It leads to open pictures.  No part of the canvas is privileged.

LOVE SCENES, SELF-PORTRAITS, NUDES

Everything strives for swiftness and abbreviation.  In this context, Picasso developed a kind of hieroglyphic language that treats a subject contractively.  The »fa presto« he employs leaves entire areas of the picture blank, i.e., white, all over again.  This procedure tends to dissolve form.  Colored areas overlap irregularly, with colors blending into one another.  The paintings focus practically exclusively on the representation of the figure or couple.  There are only few motifs: masquerades of cloak-and-dagger scenes (pictures of musketeers), self-portraits, amorous pastoral scenes, the subject of poorly matched lovers, nude figures. In retrospect one realizes that Picasso addressed dominant subjects of his time.

METICULOUSNESS IN THE DRAWINGS

In his drawings and prints, the artist continued to employ a meticulous technique.  Outlines and graphic details remain largely precise and keenly observed.  The time the artist has at his disposal in the medium of drawing, when working on smaller, reduced formats, is transformed into detail and accuracy.  Also the variety of subject matters is guided by this temporal rhythm.  The late drawings are marked by a unique love for narration.  The exhibition Picasso – Painting Against Time attempts to trace these questions – questions of technique, iconography, and the works’ position in art history.  Some 70 paintings, 40 drawings, 80 prints, and several »folding sculptures« underline the dialectic principle revealed by the drawn and painted oeuvres from the »years in Mougins«.

Visit the Albertina Museum Wien at : www.albertina.at