ARTISTS
The Vollard Suite: A Biography
The year 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso, the most celebrated inventor of modern art in the early twentieth century. In addition, ninety years ago Picasso created the great majority of the prints we know as the " Vollard Suite ", one of the highlights of his graphic production. Taking advantage of this coincidence, the Museu Fundación Juan March presents The Vollard Suite: a biography, a project that focuses on the genesis of this fascinating set of one hundred prints. In them Picasso demonstrated his mastery of different techniques, experimented with a variety of styles and created a microcosm of personal imagery in which life and art are intertwined until they become inseparable.
Ambroise Vollard (1866-1939), the gallerist who first exhibited the young Picasso's work in Paris, was an important publisher of graphic works and artist's books. Because of the way it has come down to us, the Vollard Suite may appear to be a tidier and more closed set than it actually is; however, the name "suite" should not be interpreted literally. Although Picasso included on each plate the place and date of creation (all are dated between 1931 and 1937), he did not propose a sequence, titles, thematic groups or any other key that might allow us to interpret the images or establish relationships between them. Instead, the engravings invite us to contemplate them one by one and to connect them freely.
The Vollard Suite: A Biography invites us to explore the Vollard Suite in depth in the museum's Cabinet through three micro-exhibitions focusing on different moments in its existence: the birth, Picasso's peak period, and a recent discovery that sheds light on how Picasso and Vollard understood the suite. Together, the three tell a story that will allow a better understanding of one of the projects that place Picasso among the greatest graphic artists of all time.
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The year 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso, the most celebrated inventor of modern art in the early twentieth century. In addition, ninety years ago Picasso created the great majority of the prints we know as the " Vollard Suite ", one of the highlights of his graphic production. Taking advantage of this coincidence, the Museu Fundación Juan March presents The Vollard Suite: a biography, a project that focuses on the genesis of this fascinating set of one hundred prints. In them Picasso demonstrated his mastery of different techniques, experimented with a variety of styles and created a microcosm of personal imagery in which life and art are intertwined until they become inseparable.
Ambroise Vollard (1866-1939), the gallerist who first exhibited the young Picasso's work in Paris, was an important publisher of graphic works and artist's books. Because of the way it has come down to us, the Vollard Suite may appear to be a tidier and more closed set than it actually is; however, the name "suite" should not be interpreted literally. Although Picasso included on each plate the place and date of creation (all are dated between 1931 and 1937), he did not propose a sequence, titles, thematic groups or any other key that might allow us to interpret the images or establish relationships between them. Instead, the engravings invite us to contemplate them one by one and to connect them freely.
The Vollard Suite: A Biography invites us to explore the Vollard Suite in depth in the museum's Cabinet through three micro-exhibitions focusing on different moments in its existence: the birth, Picasso's peak period, and a recent discovery that sheds light on how Picasso and Vollard understood the suite. Together, the three tell a story that will allow a better understanding of one of the projects that place Picasso among the greatest graphic artists of all time.
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