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Las Meninas (Conjunto) Las Meninas (conjunto) Fechado 17.8.57. en el reverso Cannes Óleo sobre tela 194 × 260 cm Donación del artista, 1968 MPB 70.433 La obra . Esta obra es cronológicamente la primera de la serie, y Picasso realiza en ella una interpretación personal de la obra de Velázquez en conjunto. Aquí aparecen los mismos personajes que en la obra de Velázquez, aunque, aparte de una plasmación estética diferente, también varían determinados elementos de la composición. Por un lado, cambia el formato vertical por el horizontal. Por otro, si en la obra de Velázquez la figura a cuyo alrededor giraba toda la composición era la de la infanta Margarita, en la obra de Picasso, la infanta sigue teniendo un papel esencial, pero también lo tiene la figura del pintor, el cual, representado en una proporción desmesurada y sosteniendo dos paletas, adquiere un protagonismo mayor, reforzando con ello la idea de que lo más importante en toda creación de arte es el propio creador. Así, a medida que avanzamos hacia la derecha de la composición, la forma se simplifica y las figuras de la derecha contrastan con las figuras más elaboradas de Velázquez y la primera menina. Otra diferencia sustancial es el tratamiento de la luz y del color. Una variación, con efecto directo sobre la luminosidad del cuadro, es la apertura de grandes ventanales a la derecha, que en la obra de Velázquez permanecen cerrados. Contrasta con esta luminosidad la ausencia de color, que sí que aparecerá en las interpretaciones que seguirán. Los blancos y los negros dominan la composición, no sabemos si por voluntad propia, ya que es un recurso que Picasso utiliza con anterioridad, o por el hecho de que la única referencia de que disponía era una gran ampliación fotográfica en blanco y negro. El perro siempre aparece, aunque aquí el dogo de Velázquez es sustituido por Lump, el basset que tenía Picasso en La Californie. Ubicación . Sala 12 Museu Picasso de Barcelona Carrer Montcada 15-23 08003 Barcelona tel 93 256 30 00 fax 93 315 01 02 [email protected] 1 La serie Las Meninas . MPB 70.433 a 70.489 - Salas 12-14 En casi cinco meses de intenso trabajo, entre el 17 de agosto y el 30 de diciembre de 1957, Picasso lleva a cabo un análisis exhaustivo, una reinterpretación y una recreación de Las Meninas de Velázquez. La suite de las 58 obras que Picasso donó al museo en 1968 está formada por 44 interpretaciones inspiradas en la pintura de Velázquez (análisis de cabezas, figuras aisladas, grupos de personajes y diferentes interpretaciones del conjunto); 9 Los pichones, que versan sobre las descripciones del palomar que tenía instalado en su estudio de la villa La Californie en Cannes, donde pintó toda la serie; 3 paisajes, y 2 interpretaciones libres, El piano y Retrato de Jacqueline. Partimos de las palabras del artista, recogidas por Sabartés en el libro L’atelier de Picasso, publicado en 1952, para fijar las bases del análisis de esta serie: «Si alguien se pusiera a copiar Las Meninas con total buena fe, supongamos que al llegar a cierto punto, y si quien copiara fuera yo, me diría: ¿Y si pusiera a éste un poco más a la derecha o a la izquierda? E intentaría hacerlo a mi manera, olvidando a Velázquez. Seguramente, la prueba me haría modificar o cambiar la luz, por el hecho de haber cambiado de lugar a un personaje. Así, poco a poco, iría pintando unas Meninas que le parecerían detestables al copista de oficio; no serían las que él creería haber visto en la tela de Velázquez, pero serían mis Meninas.» La interpretación que hace Picasso de esta pintura constituye un estudio exhaustivo de ritmo, color y movimiento, así como un constante juego de imaginación, en el que metamorfosea las personalidades de varios componentes de la obra. Sin embargo, la fidelidad y el respeto por la atmósfera de la obra de Velázquez son evidentes a lo largo de todas las composiciones. El tratamiento de la luz, el volumen, el espacio y la perspectiva desarrollado por el pintor sevillano se conserva a lo largo de todos los análisis picassianos del conjunto, aunque para hacerlo recurre a procedimientos muy variados. Si bien Picasso lleva a cabo, a partir de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, varias interpretaciones de obras de los grandes maestros de la historia del arte (como Les Femmes d’Alger de Delacroix, Le Déjêuner sur l’herbe de Manet y obras de Cranach, Courbet, Rembrandt y Poussin), la serie de Las Meninas constituye un conjunto excepcional, no sólo por su calidad artística, sino por la posibilidad que tiene el visitante de contemplarla en su totalidad en el museo de Barcelona. Picasso la donó en 1968, en memoria de su amigo y secretario Jaume Sabartés, fallecido aquel año. Las Meninas de Velázquez . Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (Sevilla 1599 - Madrid 1660), pintor del rey desde 1623, pintó Las Meninas en 1656. La obra, que tuvo diferentes títulos, entre ellos, La familia del Rey Felipe IV, ya aparece en el inventario de la corte en 1666. En 1734, el cuadro se salvó del incendio del Alcázar, donde Velázquez había tenido su residencia y taller, aunque tuvo que ser restaurado. Fernando VII lo entregó al Museo del Prado, donde ya consta en el primer catálogo de 1819. Pero no será hasta 1843, en el catálogo redactado por Pedro de Madrazo, cuando aparecerá por primera vez con el título actual. Con el término menina, de procedencia portuguesa y que significa niña, se designaba a las jóvenes de la nobleza elegidas como doncellas de honor al servicio de la familia real. Los personajes que aparecen en el cuadro son: el propio Velázquez, mirando al fondo a su modelo; María Agustina Sarmiento (menina de la infanta); la infanta Margarita, de 5 años, hija de los reyes; Isabel de Velasco, otra menina; la enana Maribárbola; el bufón Nicolasito Pertusato, entreteniéndose con el perro tumbado; en segundo término, Marcela de Ulloa, encargada del servicio de las damas de la reina; un guardadamas, a quien se ha identificado como Diego Ruiz de Azcona; los reyes, Felipe IV y su esposa Mariana de Austria, reflejados en el espejo del fondo, no sabemos si entrando o saliendo; y el aposentador del palacio, José Nieto. Los dos cuadros visibles en las paredes de la estancia representan copias de telas de tema mitológico de Rubens y de Jordaens, hechas por el yerno de Velázquez, Juan Bautista del Mazo. Museu Picasso de Barcelona Carrer Montcada 15-23 08003 Barcelona tel 93 256 30 00 fax 93 315 01 02 [email protected] 2 Desde su primer viaje a Madrid, y su primera visita al Museo del Prado, en 1895, Picasso tuvo ocasión de establecer un contacto directo con la obra de Velázquez. Durante su estancia en 1897-1898, en la que prefirió hacer de copista en el Prado que seguir las clases de la Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, pudo profundizar en ella. De estos años data la copia que Picasso realizó del retrato de Felipe IV de Velázquez, que también se puede ver en el museo. Copia de un retrato de Felipe IV pintado por Velázquez Madrid 1897-1898 Óleo sobre tela 54,2 × 46,7 cm Donación del artista 1970 MPB 110.017 Refiriéndose a la obra, Picasso manifestó a su marchante: «Las Meninas, ¡vaya cuadro! ¡Qué realidad! Velázquez es el verdadero pintor de la realidad. Aparte de que sus otros cuadros sean buenos o malos, éste, en cualquier caso, está admirablemente, perfectamente logrado.» (Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, «Gespräche mit Picasso» en Jahresring 59-60, Stuttgart 1959). Bibliografía . AINAUD DE LASARTE, Juan, Las Meninas : catálogo, mayo 1968. Barcelona, Ajuntament de Barcelona. Museu Picasso, 1968, núm. 1 BROWN, Jonathan (ed.), Picasso and the spanish tradition. New Haven, Yale University, 1996, núm. 100, p. 127 CALVO SERRALLER, Francisco, GIMÉNEZ, Carmen (coms.), Picasso, tradición y vanguardia. Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado / Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, 2006, núm. 38, p. 300-317, 302, 306 (fragment) GALASSI, Susan Grace, Picasso’s variations on the Masters : confrontations with the past. Nova York, Harry N. Abrams, 1996, fig. 6- 4, p. 155 LEIRIS, Michel, Picasso, Les Menines 1957. París, Galerie Louise Leiris, 1959 LEYMARIE, Jean (com.), Hommage à Pablo Picasso : peintures, Grand Palais. París, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1966, núm. 248, s. p. MUSEU PICASSO (BARCELONA), Museu Picasso, catàleg de pintura i dibuix. Barcelona, Ajuntament de Barcelona, 1984, p. 23, 696- 719 PALAU I FABRE, Josep, El secret de Les Menines de Picasso. Barcelona, Polígrafa, 1981, fig. 1, p. 20 PENROSE, Roland, Picasso [at Tate Gallery] : the Arts Council of Great Britain 1960. Londres, Lund Humphries, 1960, núm. 202, p. 59, fig. 49a RAFART I PLANAS, Claustre, Las Meninas de Picasso. Barcelona, Meteora, 2001 RUBIN, William (ed.), Pablo Picasso : a retrospective. Nueva York, The Museum of Modern Art, 1980, p. 430 SABARTÉS, Jaume, Picasso, Las Meninas y la vida. Barcelona, Gustavo Gili, 1959, fig. 1, p. 25 TRIONE, Debra J., "Las Meninas" again in 1957 : Picasso's variations on a theme [tesi doctoral]. Ann Arbor, Umi Research Press, 1994 ZERVOS, Christian, Pablo Picasso : vol. 17, oeuvres de 1956 à 1957. París, Cahiers d’Art, 1966, núm. 351, p. 115 Museu Picasso de Barcelona Carrer Montcada 15-23 08003 Barcelona tel 93 256 30 00 fax 93 315 01 02 [email protected] 3 .
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