Picasso Black and White

Pablo Picasso in front of The Kitchen (La cuisine, 1948) in his rue des Grands-Augustins studio. Photo: Herbert List/Magnum Photos.

The Guggenheim Museum's Picasso Black and White exhibition focuses on the Spanish artist's lifelong exploration of a black-and-white palette throughout his career. Claiming that color weakens, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) purged it from his work in order to highlight structure and form in his art. 

Pablo Picasso, Accordionist (L'accordéoniste), Céret, summer 1911. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, by gift. Copyright 2012 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Kristopher McKay copyright The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York. 

This chronological survey, spanning 1904 to 1971, includes paintings, sculptures and works on paper. The recurrent motif of black, white and gray is evident in his Blue and Rose periods, investigations into Cubism and neoclassical figurative paintings. In his later works he continued to apply a reduction of color. 

Pablo Picasso, The Milliner's Workshop (Atelier de la modiste), Paris, January 1926. Musée national d'art moderne/Centre de création industrielle, Centre Pompidou, Paris, gift of the artist, 1947. Copyright 2012 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: CNAC/MNAM/Dist. Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY. 

Managing a complicated composition without having to organize contrasts of color, Picasso created such masterpieces as The Milliner's Workshop (1926). The graphic quality of his black-and-white works harks back to Paleolithic cave paintings, grisaille and European drawing. 

I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them. Everything you can imagine is real. --Picasso

Pablo Picasso, The Maids of Honor (Las Meninas, after Velázquez) (Les Ménines, vue d'ensemble, d'après Velázquez), La Californie, August 17, 1957. Museu Picasso, Barcelona, gift of the artist, 1968. Copyright 2012 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Gassull Fotografia. 

Picasso used this distinctive motif to explore a centuries-long tradition of Spanish masters, such as Diego Velázquez, El Greco and Francisco de Goya, whose use of black and gray was predominant. While his work is often seen through the lens of his diverse styles and subjects, this exhibition presents a perspective on a lesser known aspect of his art. On view through January 23. 

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.