Pablo Picasso Spanish, 1881-1973
34 x 44.4 cm (sheet)
In a reversal of the Ariadne legend, this time the Minotaur is led into the labirynth by the young fille holding a dove. The monster is tamed, becoming an figure of pathos. The young girl's features identify her with Marie-Thérèse. It is a vision of hope at the end of the labirynth, of the power of love to transform the monster. If Marie-Thérèse is a representation of sensual pleasure for Picasso in most of his images of her, here it is tenderness that takes precedence. The sailors watching the scene are reminiscent of the images of Theseus and his crew.
A final interpretation is still possible: faced with the rise of fascism and the spectre of civil war in his native Spain, Picasso gives, in The Blind Minotaur Guided by a Pigeon Girl, an image of the fragile peace in the Europe of those years.
Provenance
Artist's studioPrivate collection, Paris.
Private collection, Paris (by descent)
Expositions
A Picasso Portfolio, Prints from the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, New-York, 24 mars - 6 septembre 2010, p. 54 du catalogue.
Florian Rodary et Camille Jaquier, Picasso. Lever de rideau: Collections de la Fondation Werner Coninx et Jean et Suzanne Planque, Musée Jenisch Vevey, 21 juin -7 octobre 2018.
Picasso, sous le soleil de Mithra, Martigny (Suisse), Fondation Pierre Gianadda, 29 juin 2001-04 mars 2002.
Olga Picasso, Paris (France), Musée national Picasso-Paris, 21 mars 2017-03 septembre 2017; Málaga, Museo Picasso Málaga, 25 février 2019-02 juin 2019.
Picasso-Rodin, Paris, Musée national Picasso-Paris, 09 février 2021-18 juillet 2021.
Picasso, l'atelier du Minotaure (Projet Picasso-Méditerranée) : Evian-les-Bains (France), Palais Lumière, 30 juin 2018-07 octobre 2018.
La Suite Vollard (Picasso-Méditerranée) : Cannes (France), Centre d'art La Malmaison, 17 novembre 2017-29 avril 2018.
Literature
Georges Bloch, Pablo Picasso, Catalogue de l’oeuvre gravé et lithographié 1904-1967, Berne, Editions Kornfeld et Klipstein, 1968, p. 72, n°225.
Brigitte Baer, Picasso Peintre-Graveur. Tome II, Editions Kornfeld, 1989, p. 314-317, n°437 IV Bd. (and on the cover of the Catalogue raisonné)