Blue and Rose, Exhibition, Musee d’Orsay, Paris: 18 September 2018-6 January 2019

This is archived material. It is for reference purposes only.

The Musee d’Orsay and the Musee Picasso are joining forces for their first large-scale collaboration to bring you the only comprehensive exhibition of Picasso’s art from the Blue and Rose periods (1900-1906) to grace Paris. The display aims to analyse the young Picasso’s work against the backdrop of his era.

The Musee d’Orsay and the Musee Picasso are teaming up to deliver this tour de force of this marginalised period of Pablo Picasso’s work. These two museums have been hard at work in their first-ever, large-scale collaboration, to deliver an enticing feast of previously unseen works. Most notably, Picasso’s ‘La Vie’ (1903) will be making the onerous trek from Cleveland Museum of Art to grace Paris for the first time ever with its sorrowful beauty.

Picasso’s road to his final, and most famous, cubist style was rambling and exploratory. The artist’s Blue Period (1900-1904), was dominated by a monochromatic blue-centred colour palette. The subjects of these works were as sombre as the hues used to depict it. It is believed that this era was inspired by Picasso’s travels through Spain and the suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas. In 1904 Picasso transitioned to what is referred to as the Rose Period, which was short lived as it ended in 1906. Picasso seemed to have had a revelation as he switched to juxtaposing warmer colours- primarily pinks. The subject matter also shifted to clowns, harlequins and other circus performers, which continued to recur in his paintings long after 1906. This more jovial tone is believed to echo Picasso’s arduous feelings for his new partner, Ferdinand Olivier.

By uniting these contrasting periods in the first ever comprehensive exhibition of its kind in Paris, the museums hope to shed new light on this important moment of the artist’s career. In order to achieve the full picture of 1900-1906, Picasso’s paintings will be incorporated with his sculptures and engravings. The Musee d’Orsay will also position  this famous artist amongst the contemporary French and Spanish artists, such as Casas and Steinlen, with whose work Picasso would have been familiar.

Musee d’Orsay:

Musee d’Orsay, 1, rue de la Légion d'Honneur, 75007 Paris.

Opening Hours:

Tuesday-Sunday, 9.30-18.00

Thursday Late-night openings until 21.45

Anonyme "The Wandering Acrobats", by Pablo Picasso en 1912, musée d'Orsay, Paris, France ©Succession Picasso, 2016, Paris
Anonyme "The Wandering Acrobats", by Pablo Picasso en 1912, musée d'Orsay, Paris, France ©Succession Picasso, 2016, Paris

Opening Hours

Monday:
Closed
Tuesday:
09:30 - 18:00
Wednesday:
09:30 - 18:00
Thursday:
09:30 - 21:45
Friday:
09:30 - 18:00
Saturday:
09:30 - 18:00
Sunday:
09:30 - 18:00