Picasso; Wives & Lovers

 

                    

                                        Picasso & Olga

For over a century now the name, art and legend of artist Pablo Picasso has graced the world with his skill, innovation, persistence and singular accomplishments. He is an artist seemingly without peer but he too was certainly graced by peers and they were great ones.  Chiefly among his fellows would be Henri Matisse, Salvador Dali and to a somewhat lesser degree George Braque.  Their works and honors have stood and stand the test of time as well. Arguably; Picasso does better his peers on some counts. Among these to  consideration are  the sheer numbers of his lifetime creative out-put, his mastery of multiple genre’s including ceramics, sculpture, the  poster, the collage and chiefly the thousands of paintings he produced (primarily oil and gouache.) One other thing of excellence and note for the immaculate Picasso was his acquisition of his many wives, mistresses, and lovers. And not to forget the mistresses and lovers that became wives. In ways he stands alone among his peers in this; his trysts, affairs, seduction and sometimes marriages and divorces with women and not always as a master of chivalry or particular honor.

The women of Picasso include most notably Marie-Thérèse, Françoise Gilot, Jacqueline Roque, Olga Khokhlova and Dora Maar. He loved these women, married, competed with and often controlled them. He painted them as models and adored them. Often the works reflected his emotions and love that sometimes grew into scorn. The subsequent paints becoming monstrous often painful images. The massively-egotistical Picasso even included his own penis in a portrait of Marie-Thérèse. His art, especially his paintings were a diary for Picasso. He has been quoted to have said: “Painting is a way of keeping a diary…” His thoughts, emotions, politics and different life phases are vividly portrayed in his art and artistry as record.

Gertrude Stein was another important woman in the life and fortunes of Picasso. The wealthy writer and early patron of Modernism promoted and wrote about him, always praising his talents and was an integral cog to his acceptance among other art patrons while assisted his personal growth as an artist.

Dora Maar

                                                       

                                                              Marie-Thérèse

Françoise Gilot

                                                                                           

                                         Gertrude Stein

                                                        Olga Khokhlova

                   

          

                                 

Jacqueline Roque

Picasso also chose to depict women other than the fore-mentioned (wives and Lovers) as different inspirations and subjects in his works. Random runners racing on beaches, mothers and their children, various nudes, dispossessed women along with acrobats and circus performers. Women were as inspiring to Picasso as a favorite subject along with his Minotaur’s, musicians and the frequent still life. 

                              

                    "Mass in morning, Bull Fight in the afternoon...Brothel at night."

                                                                                                                      Pablo Picasso

A woman once asked Picasso as they looked at one of his paintings “What does it mean?” He responded “Madam; if I could have expressed it with words there would have been no need to have painted it.”

An artist’s voice as expressed in the tone and content of his work is the only true measure of the legacy and value of any said art. It is ultimately the varied expressions and study of the works that have merit. Is the work beautiful, meaningful, colorful, vibrant, moving, masterful or all of the above? We make these assessments sometimes collectively but is only truly important as we are affected individually and most importantly silently.