See Picasso as never before with new photo exhibit in Catalonia

A city can be an influential part of an artist’s life, and this is what the photo exhibit Palau mira Picasso (Palau looks at Picasso) aims to explore. Additionally, the collection will delve into the relationship between Picasso and Josep Palau i Fabre, author of the photographs on display, and celebrated Catalan poet and writer.

The cities that influenced him

The exhibit is comprised of more than a hundred works from Palau’s personal collection, including documents and even paintings by Picasso himself. The main collection, though, is comprised of Palau’s photographs. Some that the poet took of the Andalusian painter, and some that Palau took of the cities that were most important to Picasso: Màlaga and Barcelona.

Palau also shows museumgoers a more intimate view of Picasso’s surroundings, like the very studios where he painted.

Through a friend’s eyes

The exhibit will also show documents and other previously unseen material that will give insight into the friendship that the two men shared. These include things like a handwritten letter by the painter, or book signed by him and some other friends.

The collection also includes various interpretations by seven known artists of one of Palau’s pictures of Picasso.

The Palau Foundation put forth this collection in collaboration with the Picasso Foundation Birthplace Museum, in part for Palau i Fabre’s 100years April 21 of this year (the poet passed away in 2008). The Palau Foundation believed it was necessary to bring these documents and photographs to light, to allow a greater amount of people to see Picasso through “the eyes that were able to see him like no-one else.”

An expert on Picasso

Josep Palau i Fabre (1917-2008) is one of the most iconic figures in Catalan literature from the last century. Poet, playwright, translator, and essayist, Palau is also known as an expert on Picasso’s work, with an extensive list of writing that is considered essential to learn about the Màlaga painter. Picasso himself contributed to Palau’s work, providing information and material on his life and works.

Those interested will be able to visit the exhibit at Caldes d'Estrac, a coastal town in the north of Catalonia, until January 14 2018. The collection was previously on display in Màlaga, Picasso’s home town, and will go on to be shown in Barcelona and Paris.