AN OBSESSIVE LOVE
I actually set out to see quite another exhibition in a gallery. I rarely venture into museums over the weekend. The « Olga and Picasso » exhibition had started a week ago. Laurent had been on a Sunday and was surprised to find virtually no-one around. A week later I was more than startled to see no queue at all. In I went. This must be the first time I have been in the Picasso museum when it was virtually empty on a Sunday. I wondered if the spectators were not really interested in the exhibition as if they didn’t know who Olga was.
Well, who was she?
Olga Khokhlova, Russian (1891-1955) was Picasso’s first wife and lived with him between 1917 and 1935. From their first encounter she became the painter’s favorite model. She was the most frequently painted female model from the 1910’s and well into the following decade. What perhaps is so astounding about this work is the range of artistic approaches. Classical. Cubist. Surrealist.
At least this exhibition does mark the century of the year when the couple met. 1917. Picasso met the young dancer in Rome in 1917. Picasso was there working on the ballet "Parade". Olga’s career was well underway. She had already performed in ballets in Europe and the U.S.A. There were some interesting sketches of her as a dancer but frankly they don’t have the real grace of a ballerina - not in my book anyhow.
I don’t think she fell into his arms but was quite obviously attracted to the handsome Spaniard and came to Paris to live with him almost at once. They married in 1918.
Life was reasonably stable in the beginning. They traveled and were included in extremely sophisticated circles which pleased Picasso. The newly weds were experiencing a dizzling social rise which corresponded with the increasing recognition of Picasso's work. A new circle of friends and different dwellings such as the appartment in the rue la Boétie (see Rosenberg Collection ) from 1918, the villa in Juan-les-Pins later and then the chateau de Boisgeloup acquired in 1930.
Their son Paul was born in February 1921 and the paintings of that period show how much Picasso was involved with him. The family scenes reveal a serenity but even if the maternity brought the couple together it did nothing to relieve the latent melacholia of Olga who was consistantly torn between the pleasure of everyday life and obvious stress of the news from her family still in Russia.
Then in 1925 there was a veritable metamorphosis in Picasso’s work. Picasso realized that his marriage with Olga was over. His work became violent in the choice of the subject and the treatment. There were monstrous deformations, the scene of domestic massacre. Olga had become a threatening figure, a threat both to Picasso as a man and the artist. Olga was obsessively jealous. She was also bitter as she had to give up her career due to illness. That did not help the couple's relationship. In 1927, Olga had to tolerate her husband’s young mistress, Marie-Therese Walter who now became a part of the artist’s oeuvre. Olga becomes the Torero in his paintings - another clash between the two entities. Picasso’s married life was now an ordeal for which the bullfights and crucifixions are poignant metaphors. Picasso even created his own mythology in which bullfighting, crucifixion and the Minotaur were fused to become the famous Minotauromachy. I have seen so many of these paintings over the years but had not really fully understood the context.
After a break in painting, he finally separated from Olga in 1935. That could not have been easy as Marie-Therese now had a little girl, Maya.
They were never divorced and Olga continued to write to Picasso every day of her life until she died in 1955.
Well, who was she?
Olga Khokhlova, Russian (1891-1955) was Picasso’s first wife and lived with him between 1917 and 1935. From their first encounter she became the painter’s favorite model. She was the most frequently painted female model from the 1910’s and well into the following decade. What perhaps is so astounding about this work is the range of artistic approaches. Classical. Cubist. Surrealist.
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| Olga with a mantilla - Barcelona 1917 |
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| Emile Deletang (?) Portrait of Olga | 1918 |
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| Picasso, Olga in an armchair : 1918 |
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| Reading -1920 |
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| Olga reading - 1920 |
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| Woman reading - 1920 |
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| Olga with flowing hair seated in an armchair | - 1920 |
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| Olga thoughtful - 1920 |
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| Olga thinking - (truly beautiful) 1923 |
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| Portrait of Olga - 1921 |
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| Portrait of Olga with a fur collar - 1923 |
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| Woman with a hat - 1920 |
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| Olga Picasso - 1918 |
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| Artist's hand - 1920 |
At least this exhibition does mark the century of the year when the couple met. 1917. Picasso met the young dancer in Rome in 1917. Picasso was there working on the ballet "Parade". Olga’s career was well underway. She had already performed in ballets in Europe and the U.S.A. There were some interesting sketches of her as a dancer but frankly they don’t have the real grace of a ballerina - not in my book anyhow.
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| Three dancers - 1919-1920 |
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| Seven dancers with Olga in the front - 1919 |
I don’t think she fell into his arms but was quite obviously attracted to the handsome Spaniard and came to Paris to live with him almost at once. They married in 1918.
Life was reasonably stable in the beginning. They traveled and were included in extremely sophisticated circles which pleased Picasso. The newly weds were experiencing a dizzling social rise which corresponded with the increasing recognition of Picasso's work. A new circle of friends and different dwellings such as the appartment in the rue la Boétie (see Rosenberg Collection ) from 1918, the villa in Juan-les-Pins later and then the chateau de Boisgeloup acquired in 1930.
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| View from Boisgeloup - 1932 |
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| Olga with a shawl - 1920 |
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| The atelier in the rue La Boétie - 1920 |
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| Dining room in the rue La Boétie - 1918-19 |
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| Olga with a feather in her hat - 1920 |
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| Juan-les-Pins 1931 |
Their son Paul was born in February 1921 and the paintings of that period show how much Picasso was involved with him. The family scenes reveal a serenity but even if the maternity brought the couple together it did nothing to relieve the latent melacholia of Olga who was consistantly torn between the pleasure of everyday life and obvious stress of the news from her family still in Russia.
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| Study for "Woman and Child at the seaside" 1921 |
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| Maternity - 1921 |
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| Olga giving a bottle to Paulo - 1921 |
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| Maternity - 1921 |
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| Mother and child - 1921 |
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| Family on the beach - 1922 |
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| Horse - 1921-22 |
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| Bird in a cage - 1918-19 |
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| Paul drawing - 1923 |
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| Paul on a donkey - 1923 |
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| Paul as a toreador - 1926 |
Then in 1925 there was a veritable metamorphosis in Picasso’s work. Picasso realized that his marriage with Olga was over. His work became violent in the choice of the subject and the treatment. There were monstrous deformations, the scene of domestic massacre. Olga had become a threatening figure, a threat both to Picasso as a man and the artist. Olga was obsessively jealous. She was also bitter as she had to give up her career due to illness. That did not help the couple's relationship. In 1927, Olga had to tolerate her husband’s young mistress, Marie-Therese Walter who now became a part of the artist’s oeuvre. Olga becomes the Torero in his paintings - another clash between the two entities. Picasso’s married life was now an ordeal for which the bullfights and crucifixions are poignant metaphors. Picasso even created his own mythology in which bullfighting, crucifixion and the Minotaur were fused to become the famous Minotauromachy. I have seen so many of these paintings over the years but had not really fully understood the context.
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| Woman in a red armchair - 1931 |
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| Woman - 1927 |
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| Swimmer with a ball - 1932 |
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| Swimmers next to the cabin - 1929 |
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| The Kiss - 1931 |
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| Bust of a woman with self portrait - 1929 |
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| Fight between a bull and horse | : 1933-34 |
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| Savage animal attacking a naked woman - 1933 |
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| Corrida - death pf the female torero - 1933 |
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| Corrida - 1922 |
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| Crucifixion - 1932 |
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| Crucifixion - 1930 |
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| Woman with a stylet - 1931 |
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| Woman with a watch - 1936 |
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| Minotaure - 1933 |
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| Blind Minotaure guided by a little girl with flowers - 1934 |
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| Blind Minotaure guided by Marie-Therese ... 1934-35 |
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| The murder - 1934 |
They were never divorced and Olga continued to write to Picasso every day of her life until she died in 1955.
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