ceramic
Image creditPablo Picasso. "Pop". Valauri, 1948. Argila blanca cuita, emmotllada, decorada amb engalbes i òxids, banyada amb vernís; esquerda de cocció subjecta amb grapes pel darrere. Donació Jacqueline Picasso, 1982.

At a glance

Around 1 hour

Picasso never visited Cyprus — yet its ancient creatures, ceramics and hybrid forms found their way into his imagination.

Why go

An original way to understand Picasso through Mediterranean antiquity rather than another chronological account of Cubism and modernism.

You'll see

Picasso ceramics · Ancient Cypriot art · Human-animal hybrids · Mediterranean archaeology · Sculpture

Pace of visit

Closes 27 September. Free with advance booking.

Don't miss

Picasso's playful human-animal forms beside the ancient Cypriot objects that help explain their genealogy.

Artlovers Tip

Forget influence as copying: look for Picasso thinking like an ancient potter.

Inside the exhibition

Medium

Ceramics

Description

The exhibition investigates Picasso’s fascination with ancient Cypriot art, which he knew through museum collections and specialist publications. Ancient objects sit beside Picasso ceramics, exposing shared interests in hybrid figures, symbolism, animals and the expressive possibilities of clay.

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) repeatedly returned to Mediterranean antiquity throughout his career. Ceramics became especially important after World War II, allowing him to reconnect modern art with some of humanity’s oldest image-making traditions.

Exhibition

Picasso Cyprus: Encounters with the Ceramics of the Mediterranean

More infoFree

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Barcelona, Spain

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