Picasso: Painter and Sculptor in Clay

by Marilyn McCully

The world-famous Pablo Picasso is known almost exclusively for his paintings. Painter and Sculptor in Clay accompanies the exhibition of the same title at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and marks the first time his prolific work in clay is the subject of a publication or exhibition. There is an incredible sense of play in these pieces--from the remarkably fluid drawings of vessels to Still-life with six fish and a slice of lemon, a bright-green ceramic plate decorated with stripe-painted fish and an almost childishly sculpted lemon section. Some of Picasso's more recognizable themes also show up in the Head of a Woman presents a blue-painted face of a woman, rising in relief off of a decorative plate. Picasso was never one for artist's block, and it seems ceramics gave him a chance to be even freer and sillier with the creative process (witness the still life of a lamb chop and French fries on a plate). What's goofier than fake food--especially when it's brought to you by the same man who painted Guernica? The book includes essays by art historian Marilyn McCully and Picasso's son and grandson, who both express their personal relationships to some of the works in clay. --Jennifer Cohen

Genres: Art

Paperback

First published March 1, 1999