Art: Picasso at the Tate Modern

Three of Picasso's most famous paintings are reunited at London's Tate Modern this month — the first time they've been shown together since (they were created in) 1932

By Sarah Barrell
Published 9 Apr 2019, 00:02 BST, Updated 14 Jul 2021, 09:51 BST

Nude Woman in a Red Armchair

Photograph by Succession Picasso, DACS London

Celebrated for cementing his role at the centre of 20th-century art, three much lauded nude studies of Picasso's lover, Marie-Thérèse Walter, are finally being reunited at the Tate Modern after having been estranged in private collections for decades. It's 86 years since Picasso produced: Nude, Green Leaves and Bust; Nude in a Black Armchair; and The Mirror. 1932 was a prolific year for the artist, resulting in such masterpieces as Rest, Sleep, The Dream, and the iconic Girl before a Mirror. Along with these were paintings of Marie-Thérèse Walter, which were created over just five days in March, and shown the same year for the final time before becoming the preserve of private collectors for decades. This is the first solo Picasso show staged at the Tate Modern, bringing together his nudes and all of the above works for the first time, along with his much-loved Nude Woman in a Red Armchair, over 100 sculptures, paintings and works on paper including 13 seminal ink drawings of the crucifixion — much of which has never been exhibited in the UK before.

Picasso 1932 — Love, Fame, Tragedy will be at the Tate Modern from 8 March to 9 September 2018.

Where to see more

On screen
Antonio Banderas plays Picasso in National Geographic's new series of biographical anthology drama, Genius. The first episode airs on 24 April.

In Spain
Seen as Picasso's most powerful painting, Guernica is a mural-sized oil, painted in 1937 in response to the Nazi bombing of the eponymous town during the Spanish Civil War. After spending decades touring Europe and America, it moved from MOMA New York to Spain in 1981 and today resides in a newly renovated room at the Reina Sofia, Madrid.

In NYC
Many of Picasso's works are on loan from MOMA New York to the Tate Modern for the big summer solo exhibition, but among those remaining in Manhattan are such iconic pieces as Girl with a Mandolin (1910), and Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907).

Published in the April 2018 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)

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