Pablo Picasso's Metamorphoses in Milan

Pablo Picasso's Metamorphoses in Milan

50 years after the death of Pablo Picasso, a major exhibition at the MUDEC in Milan hosts over 40 works and 26 precious drawings by the most multifaceted artistic figure of the 20th century. The Metamorphosis of the Figure will remain open until 30 June 2024.

MUDEC's intention is to devote a major retrospective focused on the metamorphosis of the human figure and its production, through the mind of Picasso. The great works of the Cubist master stand out, such as the extremely rare Notebook No. 7, containing the preparatory drawings for Les Demoiselles d'Avignon made in 1907.

The exhibition, curated by Malén Gual and Ricardo Ostalé, turns the spotlight on the relationship of the father of Cubism with the past and with primitive art forms, in particular African art. Through five divisions, the retrospective retraces what historians of the master call "metamorphosis": the progress of organic, geometric and random forms that Picasso conceived to investigate reality. Indeed, as the great critic Carl Einstein points out, these works are "the expression of a tragic doubt about the apparent reality of the universe of forms".

On display, then, is a true journey through the artist, starting with his influence of Iberian and Ancient Egyptian art, African art, and ending with his studies of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Then comes Cubism, continuing through the perturbations of the Second World War. The final part of the tour presents the more mature works, created between 1930 and 1970 with forms that are no longer geometric, but much more delicate. Finally, an extraordinary section displays a selection of contemporary African artists who were themselves inspired by Picasso.