Pablo Picasso: The War Years 1939-1945

“I have not painted the war because I am not the kind of a painter who goes out like a photographer for something to depict. But I have no doubt that the war is in these paintings I have done.” (Picasso, 1944)

The exhibition Pablo Picasso. The War Years. 1939–1945 provides insight into the artist’s work during the Second World War. Paintings, sculptures, drawings, and documents from the years 1939 to 1945 tell of Picasso the man and the contradictions of everyday life during these times. Picasso fled from Paris to southern France immediately before the outbreak of the war on September 3, 1939 but returned to the German-occupied capital in August 1940. He remained in his Parisian studio. After the liberation of the city by the Allie Forces in August 1944, he was celebrated as a survivor.

With his works, Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) reacted to the threats of time, to death and destruction. He did not, however, focus primarily on the theme of war, but rather on the classical genres of painting. He created multifaceted still lifes, portraits and nudes, often with motifs from his private surroundings.

An exhibition organised by the Musée de Grenoble in coproduction with the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf. The exhibition is organised in collaboration with the Musée national Picasso-Paris. The project is under the patronage of Prime Minister Armin Laschet, Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany for Cultural Affairs under the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation.

Curator: Kathrin Beßen

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Publication
Pablo Picasso. Kriegsjahre 1939 bis 1945 (Edited by Susanne Gaensheimer and Kathrin Beßen; with a chronology, historical documents and essays by Guy Tosatto, Sophie Bernard, Brigitte Léal, Laurence Madeline, Guitemie Maldonado, Stéphane Guégan and Martin Schieder)
ca. 336 pages, Edition in German.

Pablo Picasso. The War Years. 1939-1945
February 15–June 14, 2020 at K20
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf

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