Picasso vuelve su mirada a la Antigüedad y ofrece su legado clásico en el Palais Princier de Mónaco

The exhibition Pablo Picasso and Antiquity, open to the public from September 16 to October 15, 2023, interweaves the survival, renewal and reinterpretation of the legacy of ancient Greece and Rome in the work of the Malaga-born artist from the collections of the Almine and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso Foundation (FABA) and the Nahmad Collection, curated by Francesca Ferrari and edited by Cécile Degos.

Throughout his extensive artistic career, Picasso was always mindful of his classical heritage. Like any student of the late 19th century, his academic training introduced him to classical art through black and white reproductions and casts, which he experimented with a neutral and sober aesthetic. His real encounter with classical antiquity occurred in 1917, during his travels to Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as to the ancient cities of Naples and Rome. Here he was confronted with aspects of the art of Greco-Roman antiquity that his academic training had overlooked: the colorful mural paintings and weathered buildings made him question the ideal of timeless and perfect classicism, leading Picasso to reconsider this heritage from the perspective of rupture rather than integrity.

After his travels to Italy, Picasso adopted a classically inspired style in depictions of mythological scenes with isolated individuals, evoking Greco-Roman statuary or representing eroded and silted surfaces, like ancient mural frescoes.

Picasso and Antiquity offers a vision of this heritage of the classical world throughout Picasso's artistic career, from his early Italian travels to his Mediterranean sojourns in the 1940s and 1950s.

The exhibition is part of the Picasso Celebration 1973-2023 program, which commemorates, with more than fifty exhibitions and events, the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso's death at renowned cultural institutions in Europe and the United States.

France pays tribute to Picasso with twelve exhibitions, within this initiative Celebration Picasso 1973-2023: Fernande Olivier and Pablo Picasso, in the intimacy of the Bateau-Lavoir, which was on view between October and February at the Musée de Montmarte; Picasso/Poussin/Bacanales was on display at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon between November and March and between February and June the exhibition Picasso and prehistory was presented at the Musée de l'Homme-Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris.

The Musée national Picasso-Paris, promoter of the project Celebration Picasso 1973-2023 together with the Spanish National Commission for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso's death, inaugurated in March Celebration Picasso, the collection takes color! Under the artistic direction of Paul Smith, the exhibition was on view until early August. In France, the exhibition Picasso 1969-1972: The End of the Beginning was held at the Musée Picasso in Antibes from April to June, and in May, Forms and Metamorphoses: Picasso's Ceramic Creation was presented and will remain open until October at the Musée Magnelli, Musée de la céramique- Vallauris.

From June to October, Goya in the eyes of Picasso will remain on display at the Musée Goya. Musée d'art hispanique, Castres; Gertrude Stein and Picasso. The Invention of Language at the Musée du Luxembourg, Paris and Picasso and Antiquity at the Palais princier de Monaco will open in September.

In October the Musée national Picasso-Paris will present its second exhibition of the Celebration, Sophie Calle. It's up to you, beautiful, and October will also see Picasso. Drawing to infinity at the Centre Pompidou, Paris and The Paris of the Moderns 1905 - 1925 at the Petit Palais, Paris.