PICASSO AND THE THEATER
21 October 2006 – 21 January 2007
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt www.schirn.de

fig.: Pablo Picasso: Design for Pulcinella`s Costume, 1920. Gouache and pencil on paper 34 x 23,5 cm. Courtesy Musée Picasso, Paris. © Succession Picasso / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2006

In 1917 Picasso started his collaboration with Sergei Diaghilev, the Russian impresario of the Ballets Russes (1909 founded in Paris) with his work for the ballet “Parade”. “Parade,” the sensational avant-garde dance piece of this time, was Picasso’s first work for the theater.

Picasso designed stage sets, costumes, and monumental curtains for a number of major choreographies like for “Le Tricorne” (1919) and “Pulcinella” (1920). These stage sets and costumes show that he had mastered the art and craft of theater design for the ballet. Picasso made a considerable number of sketches and studies before he arrived at a solution for stage set, costumes, and an adequate interplay between the two. These works bear evidence of his enthusiastic discovery of a new artistic terrain in which he shows us his creativity. more culture >>>