brothel scenes: the artist as voyeur

The monotypes depicting life in Parisian brothels that Degas created in the late 1870s had a unique appeal for Picasso, whose own earliest images of prostitution were produced shortly before his first visit to Paris in 1900. It may have been Ambroise Vollard—the gallery dealer who hosted Picasso's first Parisian exhibition in 1901—who introduced the young Spaniard to this little-known aspect of the Frenchman's work. Between 1958 and 1960 Picasso realized a longstanding ambition when he acquired nine of Degas's brothel monotypes for his collection, and it was in Picasso's late work that his admiration found its most explicit expression. Echoes of Degas's imagery and technique abound in numerous prints Picasso produced in 1968, and in March 1971 he began a series of thirty-nine etchings in which Degas appears as a client visiting a brothel. Degas continued to appear sporadically as an alter ego in Picasso's drawings until a few months before the Spaniard's death, at age ninety-one, in April 1973.

Picasso Looks at Degas

By Elizabeth Cowling and Richard Kendall
With additional contributions by Cécile Godefroy, Sarah Lees, and Montse Torras

The great Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) exhibited a lifelong fascination—some might say "obsession"—with the work and personality of French artist Edgar Degas (1834–1917). In this groundbreaking study, noted Degas scholar Richard Kendall and Picasso expert Elizabeth Cowling present well-documented instances of Picasso's direct responses to Degas's work, as well as more conceptual and challenging affinities between their oeuvres. Richly illustrated essays explore the artists' parallel interests in subjects including modern urban life, ballet dancers, and intimate activities such as bathing, as well as in the mediums of photography and sculpture. The book also provides the first extended analysis of Picasso's engagement with Degas's art in his final years, when he acquired several of the French artist's brothel monotypes and reworked some of them in his own prints. Offering many fresh ideas and a significant amount of new material about two of the most popular and influential artists of the modern era, this handsome book promises to make a lasting contribution to the literature on both artists.

Elizabeth Cowling is Professor Emeritus of History of Art at Edinburgh University, and an independent scholar and exhibition curator. Richard Kendall is Curator-at-Large at the Clark, as well as an independent scholar and exhibition curator. Cécile Godefroy is a researcher at the Fundación Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso para el Arte in Madrid. Sarah Lees is Associate Curator of European Art at the Clark. Montse Torras is Exhibitions Coordinator at the Museu Picasso in Barcelona.

368 pages, 11 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches
310 color and 9 black-and-white illustrations
2010
Published by the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
and the Museu Picasso, Barcelona
ISBN 978-0-300-13412-4
ISBN 978-0-931102-86-8