6 Queen Square
Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AT
UK
Towards the end of WWI, much of Europe’s spirit was broken and some artists were attracted to a return to order – Neoclassicism was back. Picasso continued to create Cubist works during this time, but a visit to Italy in 1917 inspired him to also paint in a classical style. This visit also led to his meeting Sergei Diaghilev, the ambitious and eccentric founder of the Ballets Russes, an avant-garde dance company whose participants included composer Igor Stravinsky, artist Vasily Kandinsky and designer Coco Chanel.
Author and art historian Patrick Bade presents a fresh take on an old master as he explores a lesser known period of Picasso’s life when he joined forces with the innovative Russian dance impresario to produce costumes and stage sets that dancer Lydia Lopokova described as ‘moving and alive’.
In time for the Tate’s Picasso 1932 – Love, Fame, Tragedy exhibition (8 March – 19 September 2018)
Morning event with coffee and pastries.