Picasso/Rivera: Still Life and the Precedence of Form

A focused exhibition, Picasso/Rivera: Still Life and the Precedence of Form, explores the story of spirited rivalry between Picasso and Rivera through the lens of selected works, notably Picasso’s Still Life in a Landscape (1915) from the Meadows Museum’s collection, and Rivera’s Still Life with Gray Bowl (Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, Austin), painted in the same year. Together with a key work by each artist generously loaned from the Columbus Museum of Art, this group of paintings will outline the visual dialogue taking place in 1915 between these two giants of modern art.

Seeing these paintings together provides an opportunity to find parallels as well as deviations between the canvases. In spite of limited wartime resources, 1914-15 proved to be a fecund era of creativity for both Picasso and Rivera.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.

Whether you go or not,  Picasso and Rivera: Conversations Across Time examines the artistic development of Pablo Picasso and Diego Rivera. This generously illustrated book tells an intriguing story of ambition, competition, and how the ancient world inspired their most important work. The book explores the artistic dialogue between Pablo Picasso and Diego Rivera that spanned most of their careers. The book showcases nearly 150 iconic paintings, sculptures, and prints by both artists, along with objects from their native ancient Mediterranean and Pre-Columbian worlds. It gives an overview of their early training in national academies; important archaeological discoveries that occurred during their formative years; and their friendly and adversarial relationship in Montparnasse. 

A series of essays accompanies the exquisitely reproduced works, A series of essays accompanies the exquisitely reproduced works, allowing readers to understand how the work of each artist was informed by artworks from the past. Picasso drew upon Classical art to shape the foundations of 20th-century art, creating images that were at once deeply personal and universal. Meanwhile, Rivera traded the abstractions of European modernism for figuration and references to Mexico’s Pre-Columbian civilization, focusing on public murals that emphasized his love of Mexico and his hopes for its future. Offering valuable insight into the trajectory of each artist, this book draws connections between two powerful figures who transformed modern art.

Click Picasso and Rivera: Conversations Across Time to place this book in your Amazon shopping cart.