Picasso: prophet or profit

How to assess the work of an artist which spanned well over seventy years? We will consider Picasso’s youthful doodles, innovative breaks with current trends, obsessions with his models and his antecedents. On this, the fiftieth anniversary of his death, we will explore why he engenders feelings of admiration, mistrust, wonderment and scepticism.

Lecture 1       Picasso the Boy from Malaga

Malaga-Andalucia in the late nineteenth century is where Pablo Picasso is born and learns his artistic trade. This lecture will trace his move to Barcelona via La Coruña and his work as a burgeoning artist.

Lecture 2       Picasso’s Paris

Paris was the catalyst which led to Picasso’s blue and pink periods culminating in one of the great works of the twentieth century Les Demoiselles D’Avignon and onwards into the creation of Cubism.

Lecture 3       L’Amour Fou: Picasso and his Muses

In 1927 Picasso meets Marie Therese Walter who becomes his muse for nearly a decade. We will explore the notion of artistic muse in this lecture.

Lecture 4       Picasso’s Final Challenge

Picasso admired many other artists and frequently copied, paid homage to, or appropriated them. This lecture will look at the influence of such artists. During his final decades he returned to the artists of the past perhaps to claim his own legacy?