The exhibition “Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso” tells a story of friendship that will nourish “the first avant-garde of the 20th century, around cubism, very important for the American artistic scene”, explains Cécile Debray, its general curator.
From September 13, the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris is offering an unprecedented exhibition on the encounter between the work of the Spaniard Pablo Picasso and the writing of the American Gertrude Stein, at the heart of the first artistic avant-garde of the 20th century. century. It is “an offbeat look at Picasso”, which we celebrate in 2023 the fiftieth anniversary of death, according to Cécile Debray, director of the Picasso museum in Paris and curator of the exhibition with the art historian Assia Quesnel.
The meeting between Picasso and Gertrude Stein took place physically in Paris in two stages, in 1904 and 1905, at a time when the young Spaniard, recently in France, discovered the work of Cézanne and Matisse at the Steins. This American family of “bohemian” pensioners has also just moved to Paris, a stone’s throw from the Luxembourg Museum. They will become the most famous collectors and patrons of the time.
“It’s a real friendly love at first sight”
“It’s a real friendly thunderbolt, to the point that Picasso asks to paint the portrait of Gertrude Stein”, explains Cécile Debray. This meeting, believes the specialist, will feed “the first avant-garde of the 20th century, around cubism, very important for the American artistic scene. The Ladies of Avignon” by Picasso.
More than a hundred works, ranging from the legacy of Paul Cézanne to the first moments of cubism to the artistic experiences of the American underground scene and to contemporary artists – heirs to this avant-garde – make up this proposal. , very dense. Excerpts from poetic texts by the Jewish and homosexual writer, who would become one of the greatest figures of avant-garde American literature of the 20th century, as well as rare sound recordings of her voice and videos of postmodern dance support all. A series of cardboard assemblies “among the most experimental” by Picasso, from the fund of the eponymous museum in Paris, are also part of the nuggets on display.
A second part of the exhibition traces, through the writer’s journey between Paris and the United States from the 1950s to the present day, the conceptual, performative and critical approaches to art, poetry, music and American theater. Great figures of American art are also summoned: John Cage, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown and Andy Warhol.