Picasso didn’t like to travel. When he was in his twenties he would go back to his native Spain every now and then, but always with his painting materials. Later, when he was absurdly rich and able to go anywhere in the world, he preferred to stay close to his studio. He worked. He worked every day. He died April 8, 1973 shortly after getting up at 11 a.m. after having worked til four in the morning.
Jacques Brownson was the architect who designed the heroic, modernist Daley Center with the firm Loebl Schlossman and Bennett. Richard Bennett, a partner in the firm, asked Picasso to create a sculpture for the plaza, to be its “spirit.” Good choice: go to the co-inventer (with Georges Braque, let’s not forget) of cubism. Picasso, knowing that he would not accept any commission because he intended this to be a gift to the city of Chicago (he never visited), set to work. I don’t know how many sketches he made, but the visitor guide at the Art Institute features six of them on its cover. I love the fact that we honor the work in progress.
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
artamaze by Katherine Hilden 