I chose this Picasso because it was one of the works on show at a magnificent blockbuster exhibition held at the National Gallery in 2009. The format was also roughly the same as a spare canvas I had, so a lot of practicality was involved in choosing this work. It is not my favourite by a long distance, but I loved its quirkiness. This massive show was titled "PICASSO - Challenging the Past". The entire exhibition was based on Picasso's own homages to past masters and the pictures he had painted directly from their masterpieces, e.g. Velasquez' 'Las Meninas' which was for me, the utlimate picture at the show. So my work is a homage to Picasso's homage to Lucas Cranach the Younger! It was a spectacular show and I found it very difficult to leave the exhibition halls. The energy of all his work together was staggering. The original work is actually a linocut and to emulate some of those effects was difficult but I didn't try to push that too hard. In addition, the yellows and ochres were incredibly hard to paint. I had to go over them many times to get them to look solid. I should have thought this through carefully at the beginning but I was so eager to start. It took a lot longer than I anticipated. I kept seeing extra details that I had missed but all in all, it is close enough to my original vision to send it off to Following the Masters. Another interesting part of this challenge was finding the original work by Lucas Cranach the Younger which inspired Picasso to do his linocut. I find all these transitions over time hugely absorbing.
My homage to Picasso
Oil on Canvas - 30" x 25"
The Original Picasso
"Portrait of a Woman after Cranach the Younger"
Colour Linocut - 25" x 13"
Colour Linocut - 25" x 13"
The Original of Lucas Cranach the Younger
"Portrait of a Woman" - Oil on Board - 83 x 64 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum - Vienna
6 comments:
n did u go quite mad painting it? hehe, I love it. Picasso is brilliant.
Thanks Charlotte. I had many moments of frustration but got a keen and close-up sense of Picasso's irreverent, yet masterful, interpretations of his 'Masters'.
Oh Anne! This is a great piece that does Picasso proud! for some reason, I am reminded of the queen on a deck of cards! LOL I saw a fabulous Picasso exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum about 10 years ago or so. I was amazed to find that much of his early work was quite beautiful and not abstracted.
Thanks Sherrie. I am so glad you mentioned the Queen in a deck of cards. I was looking at the painting and wondering what else I was 'seeing'. You are exactly right and I am grateful for your observation as it has added to my appreciation of Picasso's original work as well.
Wonderful work...I like it even better than the original Picasso.
P.S. I thought it looked like it could be from a deck of cards too! :)
Thanks Michelle - your compliment has definitely lifted my spirits about the work. I think our recognition of the Queen from the deck of cards also comes from the brighter primary colours I have used.
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