Visitors tour the exhibition at Sursock Museum in Beirut. AFP
Visitors tour the exhibition at Sursock Museum in Beirut. AFP
Visitors tour the exhibition at Sursock Museum in Beirut. AFP
Visitors tour the exhibition at Sursock Museum in Beirut. AFP

Picasso exhibition in Beirut reveals the artist’s take on love, family and fatherhood


  • English
  • Arabic

"Every child is an artist," Pablo Picasso reportedly once said. "The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." In Picasso et la famille (­Picasso and the family), the first exhibition to bring his work to Lebanon, 20 pieces in various media demonstrate the Spanish artist's own ability to tap into a childlike spirit of playfulness in his work, seeking inspiration in his own life and the creativity of his children, as well as the universal themes of love, parenthood and family.

The exhibition, which runs at the Sursock Museum until Monday, January 6, is organised in collaboration with Musee Picasso Paris and features several works that have rarely – if ever – been shown in public. It is curated by Sursock Museum's Yasmine Chemali and Camille Frasca, head of the Picasso-Mediterranee project, an international venture to display Picasso's work by the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The exhibition in Beirut marks the finale of the project, which has included more than 40 shows held over the past two years.

Visitors to Sursock Museum in Beirut observe ‘The Barefoot Girl’, which Picasso painted in 1895, when he was 14. The subject is believed to be connected to the death of his sister, Conchita, 7. AFP
Visitors to Sursock Museum in Beirut observe ‘The Barefoot Girl’, which Picasso painted in 1895, when he was 14. The subject is believed to be connected to the death of his sister, Conchita, 7. AFP

"I think this theme is particularly generous," Chemali says. "It allows us to speak about the first years of the creation of Picasso – he was 14 years old when he painted the first work – and the last period that we are showing, quite extensively, is the last six months or year before he passed away. It's really autobiographical about himself and his way of seeing relationships [but] it's not just his family."

Divided into four sections, the exhibition includes paintings, drawings, etchings and sculptures and is arranged chronologically, providing a thematic approach to understanding Picasso’s life and his creative progression.

The artist, who lived from 1881 to 1973, was no traditional family man. Fathering four children with three women over the course of several decades, he was married twice and maintained a string of lovers. While some of the works on show reveal aspects of the artist's own life, inspired by his relationships with women or his fascination with his children's forays into painting, many deal with the more general themes of friendship, love and parenthood.

In this exhibition you have a selection of works that is quite unexpected.

"In this exhibition you have a selection of works that is quite unexpected," Chemali says. "You won't see the Blue period or the Pink period or even the Cubist period. We are showing things that are a bit different and even artworks that are definitely for the first time in the Middle East, but maybe also for the first time in their lives coming out of museum storage." 

The work spans a period from 1895, when Picasso was only 14 years old, to 1972, when he was 92. The Barefoot Girl, the earliest work in the show, is a touching portrait that demonstrates not only Picasso's technical genius but also the raw emotional power of his work. One of his first oil paintings, it captures a young woman in a faded red dress, her cheeks still rosy and round with the softness of childhood, but her downcast eyes filled with sadness. "She was a very poor girl. Maybe he met her in the streets of Barcelona or Madrid," Frasca says. "This poor girl is the vision of the young painter regarding this figure of a little girl on the streets, so it's an emotional way to see … This is the period in which he had lost his young sister, Conchita."

Picasso’s partner, Francoise Gilot, and their children are depicted in his 1953 picture, ‘Francoise, Claude, Paloma: reading and games II’. Succession Picasso 2019
Picasso’s partner, Francoise Gilot, and their children are depicted in his 1953 picture, ‘Francoise, Claude, Paloma: reading and games II’. Succession Picasso 2019

Beside the painting are two small drawings, one a tender sketch of the artist’s mother and his other sister, Lola, embroidering side by side, and the other a bold, almost sculptural drawing of two women standing together, looking down at a baby and a small child. These two works convey the breadth of the exhibition, Frasca says, synthesising the artist’s personal life and his approach to the symbolism of family in a more universal sense, inspired by Old Masters, religious iconography and literature.

The second phase of the exhibition is the most abstract and emotionally complex, coinciding with Picasso's love affairs with two of the most important women in his life – Marie-Therese Walter and the Surrealist photographer Dora Maar – and with the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. A diminutive carved wooden sculpture capturing a couple locked in an embrace, and a large bronze sculpture depicting the abstracted, voluptuous curves of the female form are offset by works that hint at ­Picasso's emotional turmoil in response to the conflict in his homeland and the cost of his self-imposed exile to oppose Francisco Franco's rule.

The artist's preoccupation with violence can be glimpsed in a tiny drawing from 1943, an ink sketch overlaying a photograph on a fragment of torn newspaper. He had drawn a man holding a baby, which appears to be crying in fear or pain. Entitled The Kiss, it shows the man with a grotesque, elongated mouth full of teeth appearing to bite the infant's chubby cheek.

Pablo Picasso's 'Le Peintre et l’enfant' [The painter and the child]. Succession Picasso 2019
Pablo Picasso's 'Le Peintre et l’enfant' [The painter and the child]. Succession Picasso 2019

"This kiss is a devouring kiss. It's an awful kiss. It's an image of the family, but of the disaster of the family, the disaster of war as well. This is like an animal, like the animals that you would have in Guernica as well," Frasca says of Picasso's powerful anti-war painting depicting the aftermath of a Nazi bombing.

The third section takes the most literal approach to the concept of family, focusing on a period in the 1950s, after Picasso fathered his two youngest children, Claude and Paloma. One sketch from this period captures the youngsters playing together under the protective eye of their mother. A bold, childlike painting captures a similar scene, exemplifying how Picasso, now in his seventies, found inspiration in his own children's artistic naivety and spontaneity, echoing their use of primary colours and basic geometric shapes.

“At 12 years old I could paint like Raphael, but it took me a whole lifetime to learn to paint like a child,” he once said.

Three sculptures reveal Picasso's exploration of pregnancy and motherhood, including a playful collage of cut and folded sheet metal depicting a mother playing with her child, holding the infant joyfully aloft in a moment that celebrates maternal intimacy. The curators have also included a selection of black-and-white photographs capturing Picasso playing with his children and painting in his studio, contextualising the works against a biographical backdrop that helps to convey the ways in which his life circumstances dictated his approach to subject and style.

The final section of the exhibition tackles fictional families, featuring a selection of large paintings completed between 1969 and 1972, many inspired by figures from literature. Characterised by freedom and spontaneity, these paintings are bold and stylised, executed at great speed. The artist sometimes produced as many as three in a single day. "This very last period is like a synthesis of all the periods he went through before and he was exploring all his life," Frasca says. One painting captures an old man lying down with a young child balanced on his legs, waving a paintbrush in the air.

"It's a family observation and I guess the autobiographical link [comes from] knowing that Picasso's father was a painter as well, and that Picasso himself was teaching his children how to paint and draw," she reflects. "He is the kid and at some point, he is the old man as well."

Picasso et la famille runs until Monday, January 6, at Sursock Museum, Ashrafieh, Beirut

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SAUDI RESULTS

Team Team Pederson (-40), Team Kyriacou (-39), Team De Roey (-39), Team Mehmet (-37), Team Pace (-36), Team Dimmock (-33)

Individual E. Pederson (-14), S. Kyriacou (-12), A van Dam (-12), L. Galmes (-12), C. Hull (-9), E. Givens (-8),

G. Hall (-8), Ursula Wikstrom (-7), Johanna Gustavsson (-7)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association
Your Guide to the Home
  • Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
  • Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
  • Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
     
Unresolved crisis

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.

Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.

The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

Race card

6.30pm: Emirates Holidays Maiden (TB), Dh82,500 (Dirt), 1,900m
7.05pm: Arabian Adventures Maiden (TB), Dh82,500 (D), 1,200m
7.40pm: Emirates Skywards Handicap (TB), Dh82,500 (D), 1,200m
8.15pm: Emirates Airline Conditions (TB), Dh120,000 (D), 1,400m
8.50pm: Emirates Sky Cargo (TB), Dh92,500 (D)1,400m
9.15pm: Emirates.com (TB), Dh95,000 (D), 2,000m

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Floward%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdulaziz%20Al%20Loughani%20and%20Mohamed%20Al%20Arifi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EE-commerce%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbout%20%24200%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAljazira%20Capital%2C%20Rainwater%20Partners%2C%20STV%20and%20Impact46%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C200%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Match info:

Burnley 0

Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')

Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)

Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)

Racecard
%3Cp%3E5pm%3A%20Al%20Bateen%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(Turf)%202%2C200m%3Cbr%3E5.30pm%3A%20Al%20Khaleej%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E6pm%3A%20Wathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E6.30pm%3A%20Al%20Nahyan%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E7pm%3A%20Al%20Karamah%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E7.30pm%3A%20Al%20Salam%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

ACL Elite (West) - fixtures

Monday, Sept 30

Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)

Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz

Director: Kushan Nandy

Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami

Three stars