 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
In 1948 Picasso created an exquisite example of “livres de peintres” (artist books). The portfolio, consisting of 20 sonnets each accompanied by an original illustration by Picasso, was named after the sixteenth century Spanish poet who inspired the project, Luis de Gongora. Picasso scholar John Russell said about the project;
“When Picasso’s edition of Gongora was first published, in a Paris still convalescent after World War II, it had an impact that was quite simply prodigious.”
Picasso was isolated from the politics of the ending of the war. As peace was being restored around the globe, Picasso was reinterpreting the world of art. He had moved to Golfe Juan near Vallauris where he single-handedly revived the pottery industry. He painted scores of baked clay objects transforming them into seemingly animated things. It was in this same village in the south of France that he discovered the multicolored linoleum cut process that later reinforced legend. He also returned to lithography in Vallauris, creating some of his most impressive images. It was there that he created the 20 original aquatint etchings for Gongora. In between painting whimsical faces and playful fauns onto ceramic plate, jars and vases in the courtyard of the Madoura studio in the brilliant Mediterranean sun, he painted the luxurious seductive faces for Gongora.
Picasso had known of Gongora’s poetry as a youth in Spain, and rediscovered its power and mystery during his days in Paris. The surrealists had adopted Gongora as the father of there new way of writing and thinking. Gongora was popular in Spain in the sixteenth century. He was best known for his abstract metaphors and strange assembly of words and phrases. Certainly, Picasso was drawn to the deeply moving and thoughtful sensibility of Gongora’s sonnets. He must have also been challenged by their sense of ambiguity, an ingredient so essential to Picasso’s own work. Picasso, more than any artist of the past century, forced us to examine and redefine ‘reality.’ He once said:
“Any form which conveys to us the sense of reality is the one which is furthest removed from the reality of the retina; the eyes of the artist are open to a superior reality: his works are evocations.”
Inventiveness was an element essential in Picasso’s work. His decision to have his illustrations spill over onto the margins of the page that houses the hand-written text was ingenious. This was the first and only time Picasso did such a thing. The Gongora pages are magnificently inventive, yet simple and austere with a Roman or Greek sensibility.When viewing and enjoying Picasso’s Gongora one should remember that he was inspired by poetry before creating them. This thought lends insight into their beauty and gracefulness. Picasso remarked:
“Poetry-but everything you find in these poems one can also find in my paintings. So many painters today have forgotten poetry in their paintings-and it’s most the important thing: poetry.”
