Picasso meets Picabia in new Barcelona exhibit

Art is not only influenced by its surroundings – but by the artists’ peers, too. Such is the case for Pablo Picasso and Francis Picabia – and starting Tuesday October 11, those in Barcelona can see an exhibit where their two paths cross.

It’s called ‘Picasso-Picabia. Painting in question’ and it shows how the pair had more in common than many know, despite a difficult relationship. One story goes that, at the turn of the century, the Parisian press confused their similar sounding names – an important anecdote, say organizers.

Exhibit curator Aurélie Verdier explained that her personal affinity to the story comes because “it’s more telling than it seems.” “Actually,” she said, “it’s the premise of an idea which ran through Picasso’s and Picabia’s lives and careers, one of ‘faux twinship.’” The official from the Georges Pompidou center also said that this was echoed by their mutual friend Gertrude Stein.

While many may know the name and works of Málaga-born Pablo Picasso, also known for having lived in Barcelona, Picabia – a French avant-garde painter, poet, and typographist, related to Dadaism – is perhaps less of a household name. Still, the two coincided various times for their time spent in Catalonia.

The exhibit, collecting 150 pieces, many from France, can be found at the Fundació Mapfre in the heart of Barcelona – giving the opportunity not only to learn more about the two artsists, but through them, about the history of art itself.