Carmen Giménez

Tracing the contours of Picasso's evolving dialogue with the master of phantasmagorical figuration In his youth, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) frequented the Prado Museum, rejecting a formal education in favor of studying the works of the old masters himself. El Greco (1541-1614) particularly captivated his attention, and his admiration soon bloomed into inspiration. Signature features of El Greco's style were regenerated by Picasso's reverent, if also subversive, hand. During his Blue Period (1901-04), the artist incorporated El Greco's penchant for elongated figures, sober backgrounds and a touch of mysticism and mannerism; during his late career, he more explicitly embraced his fascination with the Spanish Golden Age, evoking El Greco's palette of warm browns and ochers. Indeed, Picasso helped spearhead a resurgence of interest in El Greco, whose work--while acclaimed by his contemporaries in the 16th century for its undeniable ingenuity--was largely forgotten following his death, until the early 1900s. By engaging in a dialogue with his predecessor, Picasso established a point of historical continuity in his work--a grounding presence in the midst of his radical formal interventions. This volume juxtaposes 40 masterpieces by the artists, underscoring the depth and longevity of this engagement.

Picasso - El Greco

Francisco Calvo Serraller

Fundación Marcelino Botín

una interpretación de la colección Fundación Botín : Santander, del 5 de julio al 18 de septiembre de 2011

Construyendo una colección

Time, Truth, and History

Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso

Picasso Black and White examines the artist's lifelong exploration of a black-and-white leitmotif through paintings and a selection of sculptures and works on paper. Picasso continued the tradition of engaging the color black that had been employed throughout a centuries-long history of Spanish painting by fellow artists José de Ribera, Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Zurbarán, and Francisco de Goya. Moreover, he made highly effective use of isolated black, white, and gray hues in a nod to monochromatic grisaille painting and to drawing, line, and form. As this volume attests, the recurrent motif of black and white appears throughout Picasso's oeuvre, including his blue and rose periods, his investigations into Cubism and Surrealism, his interpretations of historical subject studies for his celebrated painting Guernica, World War II, and an homage to old masters, as well as the powerful paintings of his last years. Featuring reproductions of more than 150 works, this book examines the extraordinary complexity and power of these expressive artworks, which purge color in order to highlight their formal structure. Including essays by leading Picasso scholars, this book is a unique and coherent perspective on one of the world's most innovative and influential artists.

Picasso Black and White

Arthur Zajonc

Nat Trotman

Published on the occasion of an exhibition held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, N.Y., June 21-September 25, 2013. Concurrent exhibitions held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, May 26, 2013-April 6, 2014 and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 9-September 22, 2013.

James Turrell

Carmen Giménez

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