Picasso. Magic Ceramist
No other artist in the twentieth century than Pablo Picasso was at the origin of so many artistic innovations and switched mediums so easily. In the year that marks the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso's death, the lesser-known part of Picasso's oeuvre is now appropriately displayed in the factory museum for Delft pottery. An exhibition about his life as a ceramist and his ceramic work. And, as with all his work, surprising creations.
Photo:
- Pablo Picasso, Face no. 130, 157, 0, 1963 © Succession Picasso, c/o Pictoright Amsterdam 2023
- Loan: John & Marine van Vlissingen Fine Arts
- Photography: Erik and Petra Hesmerg
Picasso. An all-rounder
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain. He spent most of his life in France. Picasso's works have various influences. Experiments and explorations continued to follow each other for the rest of his life: in style, in materials and methods. No other artist in the twentieth century switched so easily: from oil paint to wood or bronze, graphic techniques or glass and of course ceramics.
Picasso. The entrepreneur
Picasso developed from an impressionist painter to a ceramist. He was remarkably fast in working skillfully with various materials. One of his friends, whom he met around 1900 in the small Spanish artists' colony in Montmartre, was the ceramist Paco Durrio (1868-1940). Through Durrio he was introduced to ceramics and subsequently sculpted several heads in clay that were cast in bronze. Later, in the 1920s, he briefly collaborated with the ceramist Jean van Dongen, with whom he painted at least two vases. The ceramic works provide insight into Picasso's versatility as a ceramicist and his entrepreneurial spirit because, in addition to unique pieces, he also created various series.
In 1948, Picasso's first ceramic exhibition took place with more than a hundred ceramic objects, painted bowls and saucers. A selection of these objects can also be seen in this exhibition.