Picasso at the Art Gallery of NSW

What an experience!  The rain held off just enough yesterday for our long awaited visit to the Art Gallery of NSW to view the Picasso Masterpieces.  Ten rooms holding such a cross section of this amazing artist’s works.

We took our time wandering at our leisure through the exhibition and the went back to favourite pieces discussing the techniques he used and the style of the time.  He used such a variety of materials and I was pleased to note that gouache was included.  “The Head Cutter”  was the first painting we saw where he used gouache to bring drama to this rather maudlin painting.  “Celestine” from the blue period of his work was remarkable.  One can almost see her there in the flesh.

From the classically beautiful Olga and the “Village Dance” to the drama and ugliness of war his work is an historic narrative.  “Massacre in Korea” was particularly compelling depicting callousness and vulnerability in stark contrast.  I found myself in quite a reflective mood while looking at the pieces in room 7.  His series of works on bullfighting was fascinating particularly the “Death of the Toreador”.  Among the photographs on display there was a powerful shot of Picasso in the audience of a bullfight.  He painted these experiences with every feeling blended into the very fibre of the art.  Exciting!

I could see that not all works were finished and understood that Picasso knew when he had reached the stage that it didn’t need to be finished.  I must say I did not like all that I saw but I certainly appreciated the genius of the man and the powerful affect he has had on the development of art across the board.

To sum it up I thought the exhibition was brilliant.  A must see on the ‘things to do’ list.

 

1 Comment

  1. Avatar for Gerry Gerry on March 4, 2012 at 7:22 pm

    I agree. How fortunate are we to have the opportunity to view such pieces. They are what encourages us to follow our own drums.

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