One of the greatest artistic geniuses of all time, Pablo Picasso is recognised worldwide for his canvases, for his Cubist paintings and sculpture; unfortunately, far fewer people are aware of the significant amount of ceramic works he produced, and many of those who are consider them of secondary importance. Throughout his career, Picasso produced over 3000 ceramic works, all of them one-off pieces; he approached this enormous effort as a ceaseless challenge aimed at subverting the existing system of the Fine Arts. The creative process he followed mirrored that of his sculptures and paintings: this clearly shows that Picasso saw ceramics not as a sub-product of his artistic activity, but indeed a means through which he was able to express his creativity in every aspect, and that these works are essential to understanding his art as a whole.
He used mainly existing objects from the standard production of the Madoura pottery workshop in Vallauris, where he worked for 25 years, from 1946 to 1971, or personal works of the owner Suzanne Ramié (such as plates, jugs and vases), using painting to transform them, yet never forgetting to integrate their original shape into the end result, or the importance of the tradition they were an illustration of in the meaning of his work. Many of Picasso’s ceramic works are a reflection of one of the major themes of his art: the relationship between objects and images, expressed through the integration or transformation of objects into works of art. As it is shown by a number of pieces featured in the exhibition, he took broken bricks, for example, and gave them female faces, applying an extraordinarily creative approach. Picasso did not only modify existing shapes; he also created new ones. Attracted by the tactile opportunities offered by handling the material, he worked on objects fresh from the wheel of the potter Jules Agard, adjusting the shape and transforming the pieces, turning them into female-shaped vases, or doves, as we can see in the historical video by Luciano Emmer of 1954 (Picasso in Vallauris), shown in the exhibition room. Comfortably seated in front of the screen, visitors can watch and listen to Picasso at work, revealing fascinating details of his way of working, with his characteristic sense of humour. Regarding the metamorphosis of clay bottles into doves, it is difficult, for instance, to remain indifferent to the words “to make a dove, we have to start by wringing its neck”.
The ceramic production of the Spanish genius is an integral, indissoluble part of his art, and this is evident in several of his ceramic works, in which many of the resources used were taken not only from tradition, but also from his experience as a painter, engraver and sculptor. Several of the themes present are also represented in his paintings, lithographies and drawings, such as the two plates with merry-go-round scenes, or the slab with the Menina, belonging to the series of 56 paintings featuring the same subject, from 1957. This was a two-way process, with his experience with ceramics also influencing his later works using other artistic media.
Like the genius and innovator he was, Picasso did not simply adopt traditional techniques: he turned habitual practice on its head by using unorthodox methods. What he did not know, he invented, drawing on his knowledge of other artistic disciplines and his sharp intuition. Picasso saw the ceramic medium as a creative challenge, an artistic field waiting to be explored, which led him to numerous discoveries, such as the invention of an original graphic work on ceramics: based on his experience with prints, he devised the concept of original impressions on clay slabs (empreintes originales). Printed works on which to paint several unique variants were soon produced as numbered original editions by Picasso, while “authentic replicas” were authorised reproductions of the artist’s works, some examples of which are featured in the exhibition.
Picasso’s desire was for his art to reach a wider audience, moving it away from the exclusive domain of collectors of his works. His ceramics – and these editions in particular – allowed him to obtain this objective: after all, pottery – with objects that were part of everyday life – was a form of popular art, able to help create a closer relationship with modern art.
A special section of the exhibition is of course dedicated to Picasso’s relationship with Faenza: the city’s International Museum of Ceramics owns several pieces by the artist. Following the massive allied bombings in May 1944, the then director Gaetano Ballardini – who founded the MIC – sent a moving letter to Picasso in Madoura, and urged Tullio Mazzotti in Albisola, Gio Ponti and Suzanne and Georges Ramié to request a number of objects from the great artist for the reconstruction of the modern ceramic art collections that had been destroyed, as well as for an exhibition in Faenza. It was thus that in 1950, Picasso made a specific donation, dedicated to the MIC, of an oval plate featuring the Dove of Peace, a memento against wars of all kind. This was followed, in 1951, by other plates featuring faun heads and vases with an archaic, archaeological appearance, and the large vase The Four Seasons, engraved and painted with a pictorial and morphological representation of four graceful female figures. The exhibition is completed with a rich variety of educational material and photographs, featuring documents, newspaper clippings and photographs from the historical archives of the MIC never shown to the public until now. Particularly impressive are the blow-up images of Picasso that welcome the visitor, almost seeming to highlight the artist’s actual intention to engage more closely with the wider public through his ceramics.
February 2020
Si informa che questo sito utilizza cookie, anche di terze parti, al fine di analizzare il traffico sul sito e personalizzare i contenuti e gli annunci più adatti a te.
Cookie Policy