Picasso: The Cubist Portraits of Fernande Olivier

by Jeffrey Weiss, Valerie J. Fletcher (Contribution by), Kathyrn Tuma (Contribution by)

Overview

Between spring and winter 1909, Picasso executed more than sixty portraits of his companion, Fernande Olivier. These works—produced in a variety of formats and mediums—exhibit a range of artistic approaches dedicated to a single subject that stands out in the history of portraiture. Even more significant, this series of works coincided with the invention of Cubism. Published to accompany a major exhibition originating at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, this richly illustrated volume illuminates Picasso's radical reformulation of human physiognomy.


Containing eighty-two color illustrations and sixty-eight duotones, the catalogue explores the Fernande portraits and related works as a single oeuvre culminating in the magnificent Head of a Woman (Fernande)—one of Picasso's rare pre-1912 excursions into sculpture. By so doing, it allows us to examine Picasso's process in an unprecedented fashion. What emerges is a new picture of the artist pursuing his subject with obsessive repetition and struggling to resolve artistic problems during a time of crisis in his work. Also included are previously unpublished studio photographs that offer further insight into the conceptual nature of the artist's process. The text narrates the internal development of the Fernande portrait series, situates it within the broader history of representation, and considers the powerful impact of Cézanne on Picasso's work during this period.


Seizing a single extended moment in the early history of Cubism, this catalogue reveals Cubism's great achievement—its startling invention, its remarkable expressive power, and its profound formal and psychological implications for modern art.


EXHIBITION SCHEDULE:



National Gallery of Art, Washington

October 1, 2003 - January 18, 2004


Nasher Sculpture Garden, Dallas
February 15 - May 9, 2004

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691117416
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	09/28/2003
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jeffrey Weiss is Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Valerie J. Fletcher is Curator of Sculpture at the Hirshhorn Museum. Kathryn A. Tuma is Assistant Curator of Historical Exhibitions at The Drawing Center, New York.

Table of Contents

Director's Forward xii

Lender's to the Exhibition xiii

Preface xv

Fleeting and Fixed: Picasso's Fernandes 1

Catalogue 51

La Peau de Chargrin 127

Process and Techniques in Picasso's Head of a Woman (Fernande) 165

Chronology 193

Photographic Credits 197

Editorial Reviews

"Picasso is intellectually challenging and rewarding, argued convincingly with the aid of 150 reproductions. . . . A conviction that drawing, painting, sculpture, and photography were deliberately and innovatively interwoven in Picasso's processes of creation unifies and enlivens this volume throughout.

"

Choice

"In the 30 years since his death, the epic career of Pablo Picasso has sustained endless parsing and subdivision, yielding exhibitions of ever sharper focus. But few of these shows equal the spectacular close-up provided by Picasso: The Cubist Portraits of Fernande Olivier at the National Gallery of Art. . . . [A] revelatory, singularly moving show."—-Roberta Smith, New York Times

"In this . . . exhibition . . . we get to see one subject, explored in depth by one astounding artist, at one impossibly important moment in the history of art. It gives us the chance to really concentrate on a few works that don't stop posing questions and striking sparks off each other. . . . Picasso is working without the rules—and without a net—and every single move has to be figured out from scratch, tested just by launching into it. . . . I cannot think of any other moment in the history of art where an artist has this much freedom, and has to decide all for himself what he should do with it. . . . He's not working toward cubism, or any other -ism for that matter. He's just working. . . . Picasso is not the alchemist-magician that became his favorite pose; he's more like an eager young genius working long hours in the lab."—-Blake Gopnik, Washington Post

From the Publisher

The book is so well and so fully illustrated that one could imagine the exhibition had come to one's desk. . . . The three essays accompanying the reproductions add substantially to the knowledge and considerations most of us could bring to its sharply focused theme. Additional illustrations in the essays ensure that the book becomes, in this respect, the exhibition augmented.

The ArtBook - Norbert Lynton

In this . . . exhibition . . . we get to see one subject, explored in depth by one astounding artist, at one impossibly important moment in the history of art. It gives us the chance to really concentrate on a few works that don't stop posing questions and striking sparks off each other. . . . Picasso is working without the rules—and without a net—and every single move has to be figured out from scratch, tested just by launching into it. . . . I cannot think of any other moment in the history of art where an artist has this much freedom, and has to decide all for himself what he should do with it. . . . He's not working toward cubism, or any other -ism for that matter. He's just working. . . . Picasso is not the alchemist-magician that became his favorite pose; he's more like an eager young genius working long hours in the lab.

Washington Post - Blake Gopnik

In the 30 years since his death, the epic career of Pablo Picasso has sustained endless parsing and subdivision, yielding exhibitions of ever sharper focus. But few of these shows equal the spectacular close-up provided by Picasso: The Cubist Portraits of Fernande Olivier at the National Gallery of Art. . . . [A] revelatory, singularly moving show.

New York Times - Roberta Smith

The book is so well and so fully illustrated that one could imagine the exhibition had come to one's desk. . . . The three essays accompanying the reproductions add substantially to the knowledge and considerations most of us could bring to its sharply focused theme. Additional illustrations in the essays ensure that the book becomes, in this respect, the exhibition augmented.
— Norbert Lynton

The ArtBook

In this . . . exhibition . . . we get to see one subject, explored in depth by one astounding artist, at one impossibly important moment in the history of art. It gives us the chance to really concentrate on a few works that don't stop posing questions and striking sparks off each other. . . . Picasso is working without the rules—and without a net—and every single move has to be figured out from scratch, tested just by launching into it. . . . I cannot think of any other moment in the history of art where an artist has this much freedom, and has to decide all for himself what he should do with it. . . . He's not working toward cubism, or any other -ism for that matter. He's just working. . . . Picasso is not the alchemist-magician that became his favorite pose; he's more like an eager young genius working long hours in the lab.
— Blake Gopnik

Washington Post

In the 30 years since his death, the epic career of Pablo Picasso has sustained endless parsing and subdivision, yielding exhibitions of ever sharper focus. But few of these shows equal the spectacular close-up provided by Picasso: The Cubist Portraits of Fernande Olivier at the National Gallery of Art. . . . [A] revelatory, singularly moving show.
— Roberta Smith

New York Times

The book is so well and so fully illustrated that one could imagine the exhibition had come to one's desk. . . . The three essays accompanying the reproductions add substantially to the knowledge and considerations most of us could bring to its sharply focused theme. Additional illustrations in the essays ensure that the book becomes, in this respect, the exhibition augmented.
— Norbert Lynton

The Art Book