Picasso and the past

Johnny Tao; April 24, 2009

A Picasso painting exhibition entitled "Challenging the Past" is showing in the Sainsburys Wing of the National Gallery and it has attracted an unprecedented number of visitors.

As the title suggests, the focus of the exhibition is on displaying the relationship between Picasso’s works and the Old Masters’ that inspired him.

The National Gallery says that "this exhibition examines the ways in which Picasso used the art of the past as a source of energy and innovation.”

It is showing some 60 works of the artist.

All the paintings have been thematically organised in six rooms, which center on Self Portrait, Models and Muses: Nudes, Characters and Types, the Pensive Sitter, Still Life and Variations.

These pictures demonstrate how Picasso repeatedly returned to the great subjects of the European painting tradition and furthermore, developing his personal style.

Awe-inspiring show

According to the National Gallery, instead of simply imitating the old works and canon, Picasso “took on that tradition in what has been called a “battle to the death”.

And it was for him a struggle among equals even when he confronted such towering figures such as Raphael, Goya, Ingres and Cezanne.”

According to the Telegraph, the exhibit allowed visitors not only to concentrate on Picasso’s paintings, but to also make comparisons with the Old Master’s. The National Gallery reproduced both their works in the gallery guide and catalogue with detailed introduction.

One of the problems this exhibition faced was is in the title - “Challenging the Past”.

As the Guardian suggests, the name paints an image that “Picasso the toreador confronts the old masters in the bull ring and beating with them to death.” Therefore, this causes the “anxiety of influence and the aesthetic parricide”.

Besides, the Guardian believes to put Picasso’s works in the gallery's basement is seriously underplayed as the “great modern Colossus”.

---