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Picasso Rugs – Pablo Picasso The abstract figures and cubist works of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881 -1973) are among the most recognizable and well known works in 20th century art.
Born in the Andalusian region of Spain, Picasso was the son of an art professor. However, stories suggest his father felt Picasso surpassed his artistic abilities at age 13. Picasso is best-known for the abstract cubist style he helped to develop during his career in France. Although he did not create designs specifically for carpets, 15 unique works produced in his Montrouge studio were reproduced by the gallery owner and patron Marie Cuttoli.
Picasso may be famous for his abstract drawings and paintings. But, few know the Spaniard has also left his mark on textiles. A handful of Picasso’s pieces have been replicated as rugs, and three of them are currently available from Nazmiyal.
Among the Picasso collection is “Femme au Chapeau a Pompons et au Corsage.” Based on the 1962 linocut print of Picasso’s wife Jacqueline, it is a striking limited edition of unusual size and quality.
“No other version of that piece has been found yet, which makes it is truly a rare find,” says Nazmiyal Collection’s Jason Nazmiyal.
A second Picasso rug, “Tete d’ Homme,” is a striking interpretation of the abstract. Bright colors juxtapose the bold strokes of a typically Picasso cubist face.
These two rugs were produced after the Pablo Picasso’s death in 1973, with permission of his heirs. They are among a handful of other Picasso rugs, produced in his Montrouge studio by the gallery owner and patron Marie Cuttoli.
With these rare textiles, Nazmiyal adds to its selection of artist rugs, which already includes pieces by Kandinsky, Pucci, Agam, Panton, Corneille and others. They also add to the growing interest in textile art, which is often overlooked by art collectors – and less expensive.
Probably the single most important artist of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso transformed the face of modern art with his bold experiments in cubism, collage, constructed sculpture and a variety of other styles, several of which he is credited with inventing or co-inventing. A painter, sculptor, ceramicist, printmaker, stage designer, playwright and poet, his contribution to modern art and design is indisputable and his works continue to influence today’s artists.
Picasso created many masterpieces in his illustrious career that began in his teens and continued until his death. Some of his most well-known masterpieces include The Old Guitarist (1904), Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), Seated Woman (1927), Girl Before a Mirror (1932), Geurnica (1937), The Weeping Woman (1937) and Dora Maar au Chat (1941). Painted at different phases of his life, they reflect his changing taste and style.
Although probably not as well-known as some of masterpieces, “Musicos Con Mascaras” (Musicians with Masks) is a beautiful example of Picasso’s artistic genius. This bold and surrealistic painting depicts a group of musicians with their tired pup using sharp-edged geometrical shapes and stunning light effects. Masterfully executed, the painting conjures a sense of what it feels like to practice in a cantina on a hot, dry, lazy afternoon.
In the painting, there are three musicians and a dog, each made of brightly colored geometric shapes in a shallow, boxlike room. The first from the left (wearing blue and white) is playing a clarinet, the second is playing a guitar and the third holding a sheet of music. There is a table in front of the clarinet player and a dog is sleeping under the table, with its belly, legs and tail visible. It is hard to tell where one figure end and another begins since the shapes intersect and overlap.
Musicos Con Mascaras is a perfect example of the great master’s Cubist style, a movement he is credited with co-founding and for which he is most famous for. The characters are created using a sequence of lines, arcs and planes. It is left to the viewers to reconstruct the subject and space and determine what each represents by comparing the different shapes and forms. This 2 meter high and wide painting is currently in the collection of the Museum of Art in New York.
Musicos Con Mascaras marks Picasso’s return to high Synthetic Cubism, which is characterized by an increased use of colors and the introduction of a wide range of materials and textures into the painting. This particular painting was done as part of a series of paintings Picasso did during his stay in the Fountainebleau in the summer of 1921.
Although Picasso never created designs specifically for vintage carpets and rugs, 15 of the works he produced in his Montrouge studio were later reproduced to be used in carpets by the gallery’s owner and patron Marie Cuttoli. Musicos Con Mascaras is one of those paintings. The painting’s bold colors, abstract shapes and an amazing interplay of light, color and shadows gives the rug an artistic and intellectual quality.
“Who wouldn’t love to have a painting from one of these artists? But, who can afford it?” says Nazmiyal. “With these pieces, you can get the same artistic impact at a fraction of the price of what a Picasso painting would cost.”