"EY EXHIBITION: PICASSO 1932"

Picasso 1932: Love, Fame and Tragedy

8 March 2018 - 9 September 2018

Called the artist's "year of wonders" by the Tate, it is clear to how the themes of love and fame almost epitomised 1932 for Picasso. Although married, Picasso became infatuated with Marie-Thérèse Walter, who was barely 18 years old. They kept their relationship secret, where during this time she became his main muse in painting, drawing and sculpture. In 1935, she became pregnant, at which point Picasso's wife left him immediately.

Marie-Thérèse's nude figure dominates, shown with full-bodied, at peace, or joyful and bright. The rounded line and forms to depict her perhaps show Picasso's care for her, contrasting to the depictions he would later show of other lovers in a more sombre, pain-filled representation [The Weeping Woman, 1937, oil on canvas, (Tate Modern, London)]. The glimpses into Picasso's Cubism experimentation and his elegant, almost effortless overlapping pencil linework were the highlights of the exhibition for me.