Picasso: A Cubist Commission in Brooklyn

Download or read book Picasso: A Cubist Commission in Brooklyn written by Anna Jozefacka and published by Metropolitan Museum of Art. This book was released on 2023-09-12 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1910, Pablo Picasso began a series of 11 decorative paintings intended for the Brooklyn residence of American artist, collector, and critic Hamilton Easter Field. This publication is the first in-depth examination of this commission which, despite never being completed, offers new insights into a little-known chapter in Picasso’s art that coincided with a critical moment in the development of Cubism. Based on new research, including letters and archival material from both Picasso and Field, this book shows how the unrealized commission challenged Picasso to move beyond easel painting and adapt Cubist forms to an immersive aesthetic experience. Authors investigate the progression of Cubist ideas and show how Picasso used Easter Field’s proposal as a place of experimentation by both subverting and paying homage to decorative painting traditions. Published to coincide with Celebration Picasso, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the artist’s death, this compact volume provides a compelling look at what might have been, as well as a fascinating portrait of art and patronage in the early twentieth century.