You have until June 7 to see one of the most significant exhibitions ever staged of the work of one of the greats of 20th century painting, alongside the National Gallery’s vast collection of European art.
‘Picasso: Challenging the Past’ is a presentation of some 60 paintings which illuminate the way the arguably most influential artist of the 20th century was influenced by the greatest works of the Old Masters and responded to them with equal audacity.
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As a devout student of the grand tradition of European art, Picasso’s study of El Greco, Velazquez and Goya were central to his development, as were Rembrandt, Delacroix, Ingres, Manet and Cezanne, all of which are represented in the National Gallery’s permanent collection.
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The thematic design of the exhibition shows how Picasso repeatedly referred to the Old Masters and others from later in European art, analysing them as his own work expanded in numerous directions. Sections are devoted to the Spanish tradition of male portraiture, the female nude, the seated female figure, and still life.
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The culmination of the exhibition is a display of his Variations where, as an old man, Picasso made unambiguous reference to masterpieces such as Manet’s ‘Dejeuner sur l’Herbe’ and Velazquez’s ‘Las Meninas’, turning them into “something else entirely”.
