Picasso and Chicago

During my recent work trip to Chicago, I planned in an afternoon to myself at the Art Institute of Chicago! 

I was thrilled to be there specifically because there was a stunning "Picasso and Chicago" exhibit. 

Picasso has a long history with the city of Chicago.

  "A century ago, in 1913, the Art Institute of Chicago became the first art museum in the country to present the work of a young Spaniard who would become the preeminent artist of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso. This February the museum celebrates the special 100-year relationship between Picasso and Chicago by bringing together over 250 of the finest examples of the artist's paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, and ceramics from private collections in the city, as well as from the museum's collection, for the first large-scale Picasso exhibition organized by the museum in almost 30 years."

This was such a neat experience because I had never really understood Picasso or his art, despite studying him in art history classes throughout college. The exhibit did a fantastic job portraying his life, his pioneering efforts in the Cubist Movement and his career. 

Here are some of my favorite pieces! You can see the progression in his art towards the Cubism in the latter part of his career.

 "In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context."

The Art Institute itself is such a gorgeous building!

Chicago is one of my favorite cities to visit and finally making it to the Art Institute was a real pleasure!