Picasso at his most familiar

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Picasso Museum, in 2013, photographer David Douglas Duncan made a donation of 163 photographs, 2 of which are colour, the remainder black and white. The decision was taken to exhibit the content of the donation in two parts, the second of which, The Donation of David Douglas Duncan II, is now on display up until the 11th of January, 2015.

The current exhibition consists of a collection of eighty-seven photographs interspersed with twenty-four of Picasso’s pieces – canvasses and images that combine in an auto-enriching dialog. While many photographers have produced portraits of the artist, the mutual understanding between photographer and subject evident in these images manages to make Picasso appear more familiar, unassuming and straightforward and in many of these photographs of the artist going about his everyday business he is accompanied by his second wife, Jacqueline Roque.

Considered by many as one of the 20th century’s most influential photographers, Duncan first made his name through photographs he took in the Pacific during the Second World War and consolidated his reputation as a war correspondent in Vietnam. His fame, however, is not only due to his wartime photographs, but also due to his portraits of Picasso. The two met in 1956 and forged a warm friendship which lasted up until the artist’s death in 1973. During their many years of companionship Douglas published as many as seven books of photographs of the Malaga-born artist.

The exhibition The Donation of David Douglas Duncan II can be seen up until the 11th of January in the Picasso Museum and entry to the temporary exhibition costs the same as that of a general entry ticket, 4.50€. More information is available here.