Picasso exhibition to open in Taipei

Taipei, June 17 (CNA) Hailed as one of the must-see exhibitions of the year for art lovers, a traveling exhibition featuring some of Pablo Picasso's greatest works will open in Taipei Saturday.

The exhibition, titled "Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris" will be on view in the National Museum of History until Sept. 18.

The 62 pieces featured in the exhibition, including paintings, sculptures, prints, and more than 40 photographs, are on loan from the Musee National Picasso, Paris, which is closed for renovation.

The museum opened in 1985 in the Marais district of Paris. It contains thousands of works that were in the artist's personal collection and that passed to the French government following his death.

The exhibition is part of a world tour that began three years ago and has made stops in Seattle, San Francisco, Helsinki, Madrid, Moscow and various other cities.

Anne Baldassari, one of the world's preeminent Picasso scholars and director at the Paris museum, said at a press conference held Friday to announce the opening that the exhibition allows viewers to see some of the most representative works of one of the most outstanding artists of the 20th Century.

The exhibition, which takes up seven halls, has creations from every phase of Picasso's extraordinary career, which spanned about 80 years, including masterpieces from his Blue, Cubist, Neoclassical and Surrealist periods, she said.

Along with his innovative art styles, the painter is also known for his relationship with many women -- wives, mistresses and muses -- and visitors will be able to see many portraits of the women with whom Picasso shared his affections.

Having worked at the museum for 18 years, the director said the portraits, for her, are not just representations of an individual, but have deeper meanings.

"Each painting is inspiring and plays an irreplaceable role in Picasso's prolific career," she said, adding that what makes Picasso a great artist was his courage to go beyond himself, to constantly break old styles and create new ones. (By Hermia Lin) ENDITEM/J

2011/06/17 21:14:07

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