Pablo Picasso

Celebrated for his astonishing creativity, capacity for constant reinvention, and intriguing personality, Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) – perhaps the most influential and successful European artist of the 20th century – epitomizes his era with its tremendous historical and political changes, avant-garde movements, and new art forms. While he absorbed the traditions of the past and drew inspiration from his contemporaries, his art remains quintessentially original and innovative. Biographical details provide key insights for interpreting his oeuvre, which constitutes an intimate diary of his personal and artistic evolution. His complicated relationships with the women who were his ultimate muses and models became the major subject of his art, fomenting his imagination and heralding changes in his style. 

Emphasizing Picasso's graphic works, this exhibition demonstrates the artist's lifelong interest and extraordinary versatility in drawing and printmaking and provides a rare opportunity to observe and study the master’s creative process. Picasso meticulously dated his prints, particularly in his series, keeping close track of the development of his art. The works on view, executed in all of the most important printmaking techniques – etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint, lithography, and linocut – attest to Picasso's phenomenal technical skill while exemplifying the motto often attributed to him: "Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist."

Featuring several hundred works from the Israel Museum’s collection, complemented by notable loans from major museums worldwide, Pablo Picasso: Drawing Inspiration showcases Picasso’s artistic evolution, experimentations, and virtuosity from the turn of the 20th century to 1970. Organized in chronological order, it mirrors the artist’s ability to simultaneously romp through a variety of styles – from the Blue and Rose Periods to Cubism; from Neoclassicism to Surrealism; from a vivid naturalism to distorted and abstracted forms – and follows his constant reinterpretation of favorite motifs, such as Women; Artist, Studio, and Model; Minotaur; and Corrida, among many others. The creative passion of Picasso's later years was executed with feverish haste, reflecting his inexhaustible lust for life and poignantly challenging its transience and ephemerality.