DRAWINGS DISPLAY

Picasso, Matisse and Maillol

The female MODEL

 

14 February – 26 May 2013

 

 

 

This display presents prints and drawings by Pablo Picasso alongside those of his contemporaries Henri Matisse and Aristide Maillol to explore the central role of the female model in their creative processes.

 

This display runs concurrently with the exhibition Becoming Picasso: Paris 1901.

 

Picasso, Matisse, and Maillol all worked in a variety of media, moving between painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking.

 

Many of the drawings in this room served as sketches or detailed preparatory studies for works in another medium, whilst the prints were produced as independent works of art.

 

They demonstrate different approaches to the use of line and tone to create a graphic representation of the body, ranging from Picasso’s emphasis on outline to Matisse’s exploration of light and shadow and Maillol’s search for a sense of sculptural monumentality.

 

Stylistic similarities in their techniques suggest a broadly shared set of artistic concerns.

 

This display has been selected by Helen Higgins, MA student at The Courtauld Institute of Art, as part of the activities of the IMAF Drawings Centre at The Courtauld Gallery.

 

Image captions

Pablo Picasso, Seated Woman, c. 1923, pen and black ink, © Succession Picasso / DACS 2013
Henri Matisse, Seated Nude Woman with a Tulle Blouse, 1925 © Succession H. Matisse / DACS 2013