Our exclusive images of the Picasso Iconophage exhibition at the Picasso Museum

It’s no secret: Picasso turned the history of art upside down like no other before him. And yet, behind the childish appearance of his chaotic and disordered work, it is clear that the painter knew his classics well. Greco, Rembrandt, Velázquez, Manet… The Spanish genius admired his elders, not hesitating from the 1950s to reread, imitate, copy, divert the paintings of Nicolas Poussin or Francisco de Goya. Between modern rereadings and respect for traditions, this unique exhibition shows us how this multifaceted Harlequin rose to the rank of great masters, going from the enfant terrible of the 20th century to a good student of painting. Here, Picasso is not a dunce or a rebellious artist; on the contrary, the painter willingly stages his research by alternately embodying an anti-hero from ancient stories, a hungry Minotaur, a seductive and cruel voyeur or a musketeer from the Golden Age, intrepid, young and vengeful. Rich in one hundred and thirty works, this exhibition dares to make connections while immersing us in the artist’s personal documentation, the books from his library, his postcards, his photographs and his invitation cards… An iconophagous exhibition that the we devour it in one bite.

Did you know ?

“Good artists copy, while great artists steal.” Is this famous quote from Picasso or not? Difficult to say, but the Spanish painter never hesitated to steal a few ideas from his elders, starting with Ingres, Cézanne or the primitive arts to enrich his work.