she paints; she is a painter

Recently I received a note on this postcard from a good friend who knows about my devotion to Picasso. When I looked closely at this drawing of 12 squiggles I thought to myself that there is no point even trying to “make art” when Picasso has done it all, and done it all so brilliantly. He has reduced this face of shapes and lines into the most simple and fresh form, yet we see the face of a happy, young girl with flushed cheeks and unruly hair from the steam of the laundry. So simple! So awesome!!

So, what is this drawing all about?? It’s part of a book that was published in 1962 … another one of his collaborations with erudite poets. Pablo P was a very savvy guy. Not being an intellectual himself,  but nevertheless being highly intelligent, he historically surrounded himself with men of letters: Apollinaire, Max Jacob, Paul Eluard, André Breton, Cocteau, to name a few. These were the minds which gave voice to his art and provided him with the literary stimuli that drove many of his themes.

The poet/author of this book, “Gavilla de Fabulas sin Amor” (“Loveless Tales”) is Nobel Prize winner Camilio Cela. He was present at a reading in 1960 in Cannes of Picasso’s own poems. (His friends were indulgent to his efforts but thought he shouldn’t give up his day job.) The first part of the tales characterizes those close friends present at this reading, while the second part relates to the history of Troy. The signed limited edition of 2000 copies included 32 color lithographs by Picasso on specially crafted handmade paper. Number 1085 recently sold for $4,500 US. There is a modest edition from 1979 that one can buy on Amazon.com … another book to my collection!