Exhibits unveil unseen correspondence with Picasso after 50 years

Two new exhibits come to the Picasso Museum in the Catalan capital, showing new the relationships between the painter and the city, books, and people close to him. The shows can be seen starting March 23 until February 24.

Unseen letters

The first exhibit is called ‘Sabartés by Picasso by Sabartés,’ and it reveals correspondence between Picasso, and the Catalan artist Jaume Sabartés. A poet, writer, and more, Sabartés lived between the 19^th and 20^th century.

Sabartés was Picasso’s secretary, but, more importantly, his close friend. Exhibit curator Margarida Cortadella explained that, in fact, the whole show paints the “story of a friendship, of many shared projects…the story of their whole lives.”

When Sabartés died in 1968, Picasso decided to give the correspondence to Barcelona, but on one condition: that it not be made public until 50 years after his friend’s death, in the year 2018. And now, you can see everything from letters, to annotated photos and more.

A love of books

And did you know that Picasso loved books – and in fact, he even illustrated them and got some published? This also in Barcelona, a city where the painter lived for years.

Indeed, the second exhibit is called ‘Pablo Picasso and the Publishers Gustau Gili: Work and Friendship,’ and through photos, art, and documents, the painter’s life in the Catalan capital comes to life, through his interaction with the couple behind the known Barcelona publisher.

He and his wife ultimately bonded with them, over their mutual love of books. Claustre Rafart, exhibit curator, detailed that “very soon this work relationship” between the four “would consolidate into a true friendship between the two couples.”