CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 4/1/2020

Some much-needed inspiration in the pure creativity of Picasso's work on and with paper

"Seated Woman (Dora)" (1938) is reproduced from Picasso and Paper, published to accompany the "spectacular" exhibition currently on hiatus at Royal Academy of Arts, which The Guardian describes as "nothing less than an accumulation of sacred relics." While nothing can compare to seeing the show in person, this superb 328-page exhibition catalog featuring 400 color reproductions and a host of scholarly essays does transport. And why wouldn't it? Picasso used every paper available to him, regardless of its normal function or archival durability—from antique papers with distinctive watermarks to wallpaper, newsprint and table napkins. He tore and folded paper, illustrated poems and letters, drew on envelopes and hotel stationery, made photographs, etchings, prints and much more. The astonishing range of works gathered here prove that, rather than using paper primarily for preliminary studies, Picasso "invented a universe of art" involving paper in almost any form, in the words of William H. Robinson. "This activity sprang from his inexhaustible compulsion to expand the boundaries of thought and aesthetic experience, and constitutes a significant contribution to the history of modern art."

ABOVE: Pablo Picasso, "Seated Woman (Dora)," 1938. Ink, gouache and colored chalk on paper, 30.1 x 22 in. Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Beyeler Collection. Photo: Peter Schibli © Succession Picasso/DACS 2019.