Pablo Picasso: A Life from Beginning to End (Biographies of Painters Book 5) by Hourly History

Author:Hourly History [History, Hourly]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, pdf
Published: 2020-04-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Picasso during World War I

“Art is an instrument in the war against the enemy.”

—Pablo Picasso

August of 1914 saw the outbreak of World War I. A legal citizen of Spain, Picasso was not required to serve in the French army, but many of his artist friends either joined up or left Paris. When seen on the streets in civilian clothes looking fit and healthy, he was frequently mocked by passers-by as a coward. Again, his emotions leaned toward depression, and things would soon become even worse.

Marcelle had developed an illness (most likely tuberculosis or cancer) and had to be hospitalized. Picasso visited her every day until her death in December of 1915. If the war alone wasn’t bad enough, he was left heartbroken by Marcelle’s premature death. During this challenging time, he met Gertrude Stein occasionally in a sidewalk café, where he was introduced to composer Erik Satie and poet Jean Cocteau. It was Cocteau who drew Picasso into the shining world of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.

In 1917, the three of them—Cocteau, Satie, and Picasso—worked on the performance of the Russian ballet Parade. Cocteau provided the concept, Satie composed the music, and Picasso designed the sets and wardrobe. When it premiered, it was one of the most remarkable opening nights in the art world. The plot itself wasn’t unusual—the events take place in a Paris dancehall, although such a setting would have previously been considered too common for a ballet. The characters were circus artists, a portion of the population Picasso had spent years paintings in colorful abstraction.

Although the opera was generally praised by critics, it was booed by a portion of the audience during the opening night. A riot almost broke out as this outraged faction of theatergoers became unruly. It caused such as scandal that years later, composer Stravinsky stated with pride that even he had been unable to produce such scandalous material. Perhaps the only joy in this disaster was that the ballet introduced Picasso to one of the show’s ballerinas, Olga Khokhlova. The two were promptly married in 1918.

Picasso, of course, continued with his painting, and once again, he was experimenting with different styles. Cubism was becoming fashionable among elite collectors, but with the war came denouncements of Cubism as “German art.” Critics insisted that the fragmented pieces in the paintings were nothing but a reflection of Germany’s attempt to fragment Europe. As the Germans marched into Paris, more and more people viewed Cubism with suspicion. Newspapers were filled with cartoons of Cubist Germans. It was quickly decided that this particular genre was not a part of the French culture. It was also pointed out that Picasso was a Spaniard and not one of them.

It didn’t help that Picasso’s devoted art dealer, Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, was a German Jew. This fact alone forced him to flee to Switzerland. The French state eventually confiscated all Kahnweiler’s belongings, which included artworks by Picasso. His work was sold at auction, with the profits going to the government. Picasso never saw a penny and experienced serious financial difficulties.

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