Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 2 : French Art Exhibition and Rubin Gift, March - May 1959

• 'l'I," l .'ou,ri,tr•Aloi/'14 url ,.,;,;,., llr. t:,•rtru,I,• l .111,ll•''• '~""'·'' ,.,,,,,,,,,,,.. lu•r _,,,;,,,. o/ •111•,·inl ,,.,,;,.,..,. o/ tl,11 tllll.211:I worth .u/ 1u,i111i11r• ,,.,.,,,,,(, m·,,uir,,,/ hr 1/,., (J11,.,•1111l11111I ,\1111ot1ul ,,,, 1;,,1/,,r,·, 11,·r r,•11i1•w lmlo,· tl,ir,I i11 ,1,,. 1wri1•1t, ;,. o/ l',;l,lo l'i,·nuu' 1 •••1•,.;; ,l'l/omm,••' (' 0 #1,•111/ o/ 1'11111"), Here is a testimony of Pablo Picasso BY DR. GERTRUDE LANGER SIN<.:E. l!>~Hi l'i,·a~,;;o had begun to show an ah11hng interest 1n form dictated h\' strktly scul11t11ral re11uirements. · In thiH smnll wash drawing, he fu s<'s and t1ppnsf'H the different pin ll<'H to convey gr·t•at eHt Hignificance 1 l'orm, together with 1livc•l y h11nrnn emotion. Cult1ur:'i- bt11·11t und raw 1sic11na. Pn1:-.sut11 bllll', Ullltldy ~re)· and llh' wl 11tc nl 1.,h1• 1:!;~t!~'il(';i';ll't; 11 1 ~.\~~\:•:.-:; ;~!·!~ l~~·~(i for tl11•lr .. ,.1 ,:-.1111us appPal, Lull an• 1•111pl11\'1•cl 111 I.lit• :,w r• \'it:(' nl l11n11- b111hli11~. j 811d111•:-,~ utul ..,,,riu11s111•ss, Wlllt'll 1:-. tl1t• 1•JJ111t.11111 ~•X -1 p1 cssl•<I . i. .., g1,·1·11 1he 1:rl'al- ~;~-~µ1::~ 1 p:::!~1b l t~)1t11 ~or!:;~~ 1 1~~~~ e•speciu lly_ h,v I IH' largPI ~I l'l'S!-=l'd l11ll111g 11111-:lt• ln1·1111 1 d h.\' tllr· t'lw,•ls u11tl jaw lines. An atfinity .,\\!.111111ch P1cn~so mnin- tai11s t!Jat ilf' had not been in!l11f 1 IIC(!(i In· Nrgrn ;.t l'l IJf'– rol'I· Lhc ,\'l'ol l' \!HO. ll I~ Nt.~Y ln :'iec IUI 11lli1111\ 1 h" tWrci1 th i..., hcud 1111<1 Ai 11,·:111 :111c: 01 ht•I' SU-f'ltll1'(1 "pl'l llllli\'C. s1·11lpllllf'. But 11'- 1)111' r·:111 be ln - t'l 11e11<·l'd 11111 ~· by whnL mreu, w11.l1 i1111.1t1· \111'1111nlions. and 0111.,· al H 111111• when one is react:• lnr it . IIW t1t1r~1io11 of th1.,; mllnc•111·1• 1~ of ~econd– tu·~· llllJ)Ol'l:tllf't• Cu l,1.-.111 \\':t~ tl11•11 ''ln the 1tlr," 1111<1 a ('t)IJlblll('d iu– llLU'lll'•" ol CC'za1111r RtHi Alri1·:111 , ,·11lp1 un• c·o11lcl nnly lH'I ii ' It 1·111111rrn:tll0!l of Lhe p r11w1ph•.-. :1ln1~1: wl11c h a 11r-w art wa:, IJ,•111~ lormcd: 1u1 nr1 111, 1011:u r ba~cd on nwn• !'>t·11:-,• 11••1t·,•1>lion. Moving force 111 IHO!I, when l h is skNch wm, p1od11c·NI, cubism was pa:-i~111l; thru11g h its first fOl'lllltl l\'f' phit:'il'. R1ghtl~· C'l:11111ed HS most prolt11111d anr1 IP:tC'l1im.: of m oclPl'I\ Rrt 1110\'C'llll'l\l i;, \\'(' ill\\'(' 10 rni1- sidt•I' tlw: .-.111nll wo rk 111 it s lu~1u1 11:d pr•1~1H'('I i\·c. P ir– a:-.... o \\':l '- tilt' lllll,101' lllfl\"llli,?. for1·r 111 all Ihr d II f'<·11ni1.: 111:ll l'll h l"-111 \\'IIS to 1:1kr " lf,·ad of 111a11 " l~ 110 1 :11110111.: t 11,, 11rn,1nr work .. 1 llnt F:,;l\l\'d ftt1fll Pwn~:m m 111,.. •a1111• yc·ar. nlld nli-n 1101 nnr of llw 111n-.1 cl1:1 rnrtrn --11,· 11w!-. h 111 11 .--1111 lllOI\ \' 1)1 Pi•·a..-.n ·•ll.!lljllC':lll( 1111111 . • 1·1,,. c:,w,i,•,.,,,,u "'' •.,;,;,.. IJr. ,;,,,,,1111,, t,u,,c,•r, 1r,,tn.,· rm1li1111r• l11•r 111•,ir• o/ 11,rci«I tl'rlmo, o/ t/U' 1mintiu111 rrrmit/.,· nr1111irr1I l,r 1l1r Qu,.r,ulnutl Nnti1,11nl Art 1;,,11,.,~, al a c,1111 o/ £101.20:I. Iler reriiew to,luy IA of P11l,lo l'lca111)1 "Jf'umnr, Hlitl1 1•arn1ol Lyin• on 1l1c U,111cl1."• He1•e!'s how to unde1·stand BY DR, GERTRUDE LANGER THIS is he painting that people find lm– possihlc to understand. There is no need to like it, if you cunnot. hut why not try to unders tand it'! It is quite Fri,qucntly, Picasso - was dr;vcn by his daemon to produce "monstrcs." Some of these "monstres" nre exreedlngly well con· strncted, others less so. First to the question or "monstre." In ~cncral. There s no vnlld reason why they ught not to be a legitimate ubJcct of nrt. Age-old Age-old myths, sprin~lng from mnn's fears and horrors. have given form to ~gf1\1 gsSl~~ 11 ,11c Rl~cJ~~~fy~~a the Minotaur, the gargoyles l of the Midclie Ages, and primitive masks. ''Monst.res·· occur fre– quently In the palutln~s or Bosh and Brueghel. and al Goya, who wns a Spaniard like Plca.sso. "Harmless" Be~~l~J1~~~ 1 ~';(t\th~~~lcth: harmless ··monstrc." What puzzles people chle!ly is her 111mtomy. This, too, is qnltc ca.sy to "under– ~tnnd.'' once we know whnl Picnsso wns trying to do. Pur~uln~ slmllnr cnd!i as those of his en.rly cubist com- b?r~~tlo~.11~,wl~c ~-:51;r1~ ~ucril~l~ hotly thnt cannot. be seen all n,t once In nonnnl rlsion. The point is, that he sue• reeded In rrenttni:: R. Corm, Lim t Is ncvcrlhclcS.c; organic, not from nnturc's nnsle, but from the one or nrt, Play of curves Exprc1>slnnisticnlly twisted, honelcss shup~s ror'm a lh•ely hnroquc nrnbesqut?. The play or c11r\'es nnd supplC' movement, togct he,r with the sultry tones. com•cy lhe h\11~111, htn~ nttltude ol people ioiiln~ on the bench Winn ctt... t,urb., me in this painting Is not the violent dist ortions. l>u, that It Is not 4 -Fh'~rer;g~:0~~b1~·,i~~Ol~n un- plrnsnnt. nnr,lr nt t IH' frame. The cornrr. whlrh l!:t\'C trouble. is net snl\'crf hr thr hn t, which 1,1011•~11 r1dct111r. to 1 h(' notr 0! l111111l'l111·, crrnlclj ~•n.~11)' be cllspcnseo \\'Ith H~ n l!-=hnpc. 1 I11dr.ed the 1:omposltlo11 seems to ~nln tr we tr\' tn 1 tnkc t.hc hat nwa,v. · As tn thr rrlcr of 1hr painlm1,:, It 1s n rrm1111rnt 011 l tllc nnzr time~. 1hat pny for crC'nt nnmrs, not ror grcnt l\\'Ol'kS.