exhibit #3

Picasso: Mosqueteros (Gagosian)

The opening pieces are all pretty magnificent- “L’homme au casque d’or”- white, blue and gold, a stern, imperious, angular face. “Couple”- rich grays and blues, the mosquetero and his woman, the black bird on her arm, a very Guston texture. “Homme a la Pipe”- I love the bright colors, the strong clear lines. Reds, yellows, blues, greens, whites.

The foggier but still rich colors of “Femme nue” are likewise appealing. I wonder why so many of the titles are in French… perhaps Picasso was living in France at this time. The exhibit is mostly portrait themed, variations on the classic Picasso face. The big, sharp, sideways nose, the bright almond eyes. His palette is a little more subtle than his peak works- a lot of gray, some blue, white. I like the blue-gray palette of “Peinte, buste de profil.”

A particularly rich, strong series of works, all next to each other on the wall- “Homme”- love the long, clean angularity of the face. “Portrait de l’homme a l’epee et a la fleur”- bright colors, green, red, yellow, blue and white. The figure seems delightfully childish, a stupid Prince playing on the floor with his sword. “Buste d’homme”- a round, bearded, blue face, noticeably of a different shape and design than most of the other portraits. “Homme assis,” a very nice, gently positive portrait, richly composed in bright blue, maroon and cream.

“Femme assise dans un fauteuil”- beautiful shading, excellent definition. A palette of dark blue, gray, white and a burnt orange/red. Classic Picasso beauty and concern in the woman’s face.

His ink drawings are really nice… There’s a set of six that feel like they’re unfolding on a stage, the brightly lit center stage, the darkness of the audience surrounding. The first drawing is reasonably detailed and clear, depiction of a bull/man in amorous embrace with a nude woman- the others get shadowy and sketchier, until the sixth one, which seems to be the woman dreaming of a King or some other gallant figure. Collectively they feel like the story of a woman, her loves and battles.

Next to these is a set of drawings I really love, a recurring theme of old, very spanish men examining or meeting or illustrating beautiful women. I feel like I’ve seen, if not these particular drawings, ones like them. I remember a lot of Picasso’s minotaur drawings from the Met’s spanish exhibit, about 2 years ago. I really enjoy the fluidity of his line drawings.

“Le baiser” is fantastic. Like puzzle pieces, the PIcasso man and Picasso woman, locked in embrace as they fall back on the bed. There is something forceful, mean in the man’s eyes- something submissively ugly about the woman, but collectively it is still passionate, still romantic and dramatic. Pale gray and yellow skin, thick and vibrant despite the unexciting colors. A dark and gleaming yellow consuming the left side of the canvas. This is my overall favorite work in the exhibit. “Torero”- lovely, bright color and yet somehow sad- the bright figure on the black background, with his ugly, somewhat idiotic face- he is clownish, rather pathetic.

Overall- in many ways, his colors and brush strokes evoke Philip Guston. It’s strangely appropriate that this is in a Chelsea gallery and not a museum- these works come from an era, the late sixties, the early seventies, that I associate more with gallery shows than museum exhibits- it’s somewhat “post museum” work. I wonder how often this work was showed, or if these were mostly in his studio, or sold privately? Hm, well- “Picasso believes that works of art are meaningless unless seen and enjoyed by many people”- the narrator of a film playing in the back corner. He’s directly quoting Picasso, not projecting. Interesting to know.

When I see marks of other artists in these works, I wonder- was Picasso still influencing new artists, or were new artists influencing him? “Buste”- stately, dramatic, a dark yet brightly toned portrait. Imposingly regal and dignified. It would be helpful, interesting to know how representative this exhibit is- as in, are these primarily the works Picasso made in his last years, or are these a selection specifically of the portraits he was making in his last years?

The gallery guide makes a poignant point about his race against death- in a way this helps explain some of the rawer, less complete vision of many of the works. They also make an interesting point about the influence of the old masters on Picasso- the noblemen and gentlemen and mosqueteros throughout the portraiture certainly evoke Rembrandt.

Some of the works feel a little flat, incomplete, but the best are thoroughly beautiful and interesting. My overall favorite is “Le baiser.” I also found his drawings quite impressive and undiminished. The show vaguely reminds me of an athlete past his prime. Collectively less impressive than his best work, but still brilliant in spurts- still able to pull out a masterpiece now and then.