Free Picasso exhibition opens in Manchester

2 hours ago

Georgie DockerNorth West

News image — Pablo Picasso's Fumeur à la Cigarette Rouge from 1964 is one of several iconic artworks to be featured in the exhibition

Castle Fine Art Multi-coloured abstract work by Pablo Picasso showing a face with a red cigarette propped to its mouth. — Pablo Picasso's Fumeur à la Cigarette Rouge from 1964 is one of several iconic artworks to be featured in the exhibition

A collection of 35 pieces by Pablo Picasso has gone on display at a free new art exhibition in Manchester.

Picasso: A Legacy opened at Castle Fine Art on Monday and can be visited until 4 May.

The collection includes original works on paper and ceramics, as well as some never-before-seen pieces dating from the mid-1930s up until Picasso's death in 1973.

"It is a privilege to share this exhibition from one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century," said Ian Weatherby-Blythe from Castle Fine Art.

Castle Fine Art Portraits on paper by Pablo Picasso, displayed on a deep red wall. Underneath the works reads a quote by Picasso spoken to Françoise Gaime Gilot: "You know, I've always been haunted by a certain few faces and yours is one of them." — Picasso: A Legacy is open daily at Castle Fine Art on King Street in Manchester

According to the gallery, visitors will be guided through the last four decades of Picasso's life, encountering the artist's lovers and muses, mythological alter egos, playful zoomorphic ceramics, and feats of frantic artistic output in Picasso's final decade.

Castle Fine Art An abstract-style painting of pears in a bowl - the piece combines black and white drawings with bright coloured triangles of colour. — Nature Morte Aux Poires, 1960, available to view as part of the exhibition

The exhibition features both individual pieces and complete portfolios such as Nature Morte Aux Poires et au Pichet from 1960 (pictured above) and La Guerre et la Paix created in 1954.

Castle Fine Art Ceramic white dish with a pattern of a man sitting cross-legged while playing the flute. — Picasso's Joueur de Flûte, 1951

The ceramics on display - including Joueur de Flûte from 1951 and Yan Soleil from 1963 - are part of a wider collection made while Picasso was living in the south of France between 1948 and 1968.

Castle Fine Art Ceramic brick-coloured jug with handle and wide opening. The piece is decorated with a basic black print with stripes, spots and a sun-like face. — Yan Soleil, 1963

Curators at the Halcyon Group, which is organising the exhibition, said Picasso repeatedly turned during his career to a cast of mythical creatures, archetypes and characters as symbolic representations of himself.

The exhibition will examine how minotaurs, fauns, bulls, matadors and owls populated his work, serving as alter egos through which he could express the powerful impulses of desire, passion, vitality and mortality.

Castle Fine Art Two portraits, one of a woman and the other of a more abstract figure hung on a red gallery wall — Among those on display are the artist's Tête de Jeune Femme from 1947 (left) and Figure, from 1949

The exhibition will also look at muses who "shaped the trajectory of his art and fueled his creative energy", the curators said.

Portraits of women like Femme Endormie (Dormeuse) from 1962/63 featuring Marie-Thérèse Walter and Tête de Jeune Fille 1 from 1945, featuring Françoise Gilot, will showcase the women who provided Picasso with the "creative impetus that continually reshaped his ever-evolving approach to form and medium", the gallery has said.

Castle Fine Art Woman drawn with strong black outline on brick-coloured background. She sleeps in a bed with a pillow and blanket drawn below an exposed chest. — Portraits like Femme Endormie (Dormeuse), featuring one of Picasso's muses, French model Marie-Thérèse Walter "are interwoven with Picasso's own self-image", Castle Fine Art said.

Weatherby-Blythe added: "We believe everyone should be able to experience the joy of fine art and it is a privilege to share this exhibition from one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century.

"Picasso: A Legacy is open to all to enjoy at our Manchester, King Street gallery and features over 35 original artworks from the extraordinary last four decades of Picasso's life."

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