Speak the Culture: Spain: Be Fluent in Spanish Life and Culture

he turned to bulging lumps of clay for representing the

female form in the early 30s. Later, he continued to make

sculpture from any bits of metal that came to hand, as with

Tête de taureau(1943), the bull’s head constructed with

simple brilliance from a bicycle saddle and handlebar.

Juan Gris: Spain’s other Cubist

Inevitably, Picasso influenced other Spanish artists of

the early 20thcentury. Like Picasso they usually worked

outside Spain, most choosing the rarefied atmosphere

of Paris in which to paint. Behind Picasso and Braque,

the third man of Cubism was Juan Gris. Originally from

Madrid, Gris found himself in Paris during Cubism’s

formative years. His Analytical Cubism comes through in a

portrait of Picasso from 1912, before his later work follows

Synthetic Cubism’s taste for collage. Considered the most

intellectual and theory-driven of the Cubists, Gris’ work

varied from Picasso’s in its use of stronger colours and its

lack of figures. Still Life with Checked Tablecloth(1915)

is typical of his refined style, its varied layers of grapes,

newspaper and table hoping to show us multiple sides

of the subject.

Men of iron: Catalan sculptors

Spain’s painterly flourish in the early 20thcentury was

accompanied by a sculptural spurt. Julio González and Pablo

Gargallo were the big names. Both were from Catalonia and

both came from stout blacksmith backgrounds that saw

them working largely in iron. They were also both close allies

of Picasso, and the shared creative wavelength comes

through in their work. Gargallo explored the African mask

motifs used by Picasso before manipulating flat sheets of

metal into dancers, warriors and gods. He also rendered

Picasso himself in metal and later made three wispy

sculptures of Greta Garbo’s head. González, an endearingly

humble man, apparently asked Picasso’s permission to work,

130

1. Identity: the
   building blocks of
   2. Literature
   and philosophy
   3. Art and
   architecture
   4. Performing
   arts
   5. Cinema
   and fashion
   6. Media and
   communications
   7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
   the details of

“BAD ARTISTS

COPY, GOOD

ARTISTS STEAL.”

Pablo Picasso

Picasso’s tough love

Picasso loved the ladies.

He was married twice,

had numerous affairs

and fathered four

children by three

different women. The

last of his children,

Paloma, now a fashion

designer, was born in

1949 when Pablo was

pushing 70. He had a

reputation as a heartless

lover, emotionally and

sometimes physically

abusing a series of

young muses that were

rapidly discarded.

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