Cleveland Museum of Art presents Picasso and the Mysteries of Life. Deconstructing La Vie, an exhibition on view through April 21, 2013.
La Vie, 1903. Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). Oil on canvas; 197 x 129 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Hanna Fund 1945.24 © Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Reproduction, including downloading of ARS works is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Picasso and the Mysteries of Life is the first exhibition devoted to an intensive exploration of La Vie, the artist’s culminating masterwork of the Blue Period and a signature work in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The exhibition is accompanied by new scientific studies of Picasso’s working methods and a groundbreaking book that uses the painting as the touchstone for examining an array of issues vital to modernist culture of the 19th and 20th centuries. By placing the painting in previously unconsidered historical contexts, the exhibition and book shed new light on the creative processes of the 20th century’s most important and influential artist.
This exhibition is organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art with the collaboration of the Museu Picasso, Barcelona. The Cleveland Museum of Art is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this exhibition with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. – www.clevelandart.org