Helene Seckel

I would hardly ever write a review about a museum catalogue but have made an exception here. I've visited a couple of museums devoted to Picasso: In Barcelona (which claims him as their native son), one in Hakone, Japan, which is devoted to his ceramic work, One in Malaga, Spain ...where he was born but spent little time there but I don't think I ever saw the museum which is the subject of this book.....at least I don't recall it. I'm actually very impressed with this little book which is both a mini biography of Picasso, and a great collection of his works which come from Picasso's own collections plus more recent donations from his family and others. By any account, it's an impressive collection and the book is structured around the various rooms housing the collection. I'm not sure if every work is catalogued here but there are certainly a lot and each piece has a colour photo plus some background on the piece. Clearly, the author, whom I assume to be Helene Sekel ...head of the museum really knows their stuff because each text vignette is worthy of study in its own right. And yes, I learned a new thing about Picasso.....he also dabbled into poetry and I was unaware of this before. (Though I have read a massive three volumes of the studies of Picasso by Josep Palau i Fabre). There are a couple of nice throw away lines like "If an apprentice potter turned out ceramics like Picasso, he would never get a job" and one by Picasso himself...."I am the greatest collector of Picasso's in the world". I've always been fascinated by the way that Picasso influenced the art world and how something literally thrown together by him has become revered in the world of art. I think he said at sometime that the key to success was choosing the right agent. It also helped, having enormous energy and productivity and a flair for self promotion. But why Picasso and not one of the dozens of other artists churning out works that were unpopular at the time and still remain unpopular. Certainly it has a lot to do with branding. The Picasso brand guarantees a following and a high price. But what about the intrinsic worth of the art? What is so special about the piece of brick with face of woman on p103. If it had the label "Josie Fleming ....aged 10", I suspect the artist might be assessed as showing promise but the collectors would not be lining up. Yet, place it in this collection with the name Picasso and it becomes iconic. OK. it helped that Picasso was incredibly inventive and never seemed to suffer from self doubt....except perhaps after the death of Casagemos. (I wonder how much (if anything) Picasso had to do with the suicide?)
Anyway, I nice catalog, and a great guide to the gallery. If I ever get back to paris it will be on my list of "must-dos". Four stars from me.… (meer)