Lecture: Picasso—The Mask within the Model
@ The Art Institute of Chicago
111 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603
Opening Thursday, March 21st, from 6PM - 7PM
Pablo Picasso’s portraits from life are among his most revealing and powerful works. A key challenge for him was discovering the hidden life of each sitter, capturing this essence, and conveying it through a mask-like personification that reflected the person’s deeper identity. Often, like African masks, this process both shielded and re-fashioned external features, transforming them into a painting that captured a complete persona.
Join Suzanne Preston Blier, professor of fine arts and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, for an exploration of Picasso’s African influences.
Support for this program is provided by the Allan McNab Endowed Fund.
About the Speaker
Suzanne Preston Blier
Suzanne Preston Blier is an historian of African art and Architecture and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. A recent inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, her books include The History of African Art, and Picasso’s Demoiselles: The True Origins of a Modern Art Masterpiece, winner of the 2020 Robert Motherwell Book Award for an outstanding publication in the history and criticism of modernism in the arts. In 2011, two of her articles were selected for the Centennial Anthology of the Art Bulletin, which featured the 33 top articles from the journal’s 100-year history. She was one of only three art historians so honored.
Please note that this is an in-person event that takes place at the museum.
In accordance with state and City of Chicago guidelines, visitors to the museum are no longer required to wear masks or provide proof of vaccination. Anyone who would like to continue to wear a mask is welcome to do so. Learn more about our visiting policies and what to expect.
If you have any questions about programming, please reach out to museum-programs@artic.edu.
Closed captioning will be available for this program. For questions related to accessibility accommodations, please email access@artic.edu.
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Tags: Chicago, Lecture: Picasso—The Mask within the Model, Loop, Pablo Picasso, picasso, Suzanne Preston Blier, The Art Institute of Chicago
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