Cover ‘Picasso: Beauty and Drama’ (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
‘Picasso: Beauty and Drama’ (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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A new Picasso exhibition in Macau, which opened this month, explores the artist’s Málaga roots through rare personal objects—such as his baby shoe—on display in Asia for the first time.
“Just as the history of the world in the West is divided into ‘Before Christ’ and ‘After Christ’, those of us who are dedicated to art operate thinking in terms of ‘Before Picasso’ and ‘After Picasso’,” says Mario Virgilio Montañez Arroyo, curator of Museo Casa Natal Picasso and the creative force behind the newly opened exhibition Picasso: Beauty and Drama at Grand Lisboa Palace, Macau.
“For thousands of years, art was about trying to be as realistic as possible, almost photographic. But when Picasso arrived, he said, ‘No, we are going to recreate the object. If I want to represent a face, I don’t have to do it with realistic perfection. Rather, it should be from [artistic] freedom.’” The result was disproportionate faces, human bodies broken down into geometric shapes and simultaneous two- and three-dimensional forms on canvas.
While many exhibitions have framed the Spanish artist as a technical or academic genius, Picasso: Beauty and Drama—which runs until October 26—is a comprehensive examination of his life, from formative years in Málaga and personal roots, to the cultural and emotional forces that shaped his creativity. The show features 143 works from Museo Casa Natal Picasso and other collections, nine of which are showing outside Europe for the first time. As well as sketches, paintings and ceramic pieces, there are rare personal belongings and photographs.
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Above ‘Portrait of Raymonde’ (1907) by Picasso (Image: Tatler Hong Kong)
‘Portrait of Raymonde’ (1907) by Picasso (Image: Tatler Hong Kong)
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The exhibition begins with Picasso’s early years, including his formal education at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid during his teenage years, which gave him a solid grounding in classical realism. It was here that he studied the works of the old masters—a fine art tradition he would later subvert.
Dr Alma Mikulinsky, an expert on Picasso and cultural consultant for the exhibition, explains that the many drafts retained by the artist throughout his life—some of which are shown in the exhibition—are critical for understanding his evolution. These early studies and later experiments show how he developed his own abstract, Cubist language by engaging with new tools and forms.
One highlight is a realistic sketch of Raymonde, the 13-year-old daughter he briefly adopted with his partner Fernande Olivier in 1907. Created when Picasso was 26, it is one of the few known sketches of Raymonde and has never before been shown outside Asia.
Above Mario Virgilio Montañez Arroyo standing next to a porcelain plate by Picasso at ‘Picasso: Beauty and Drama’ (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
Mario Virgilio Montañez Arroyo standing next to a porcelain plate by Picasso at ‘Picasso: Beauty and Drama’ (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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Elsewhere, the exhibition delves into Picasso’s fascination with bulls, a recurring symbol in his work that reflects both cultural tradition and inner psychological tension. Paintings and ceramic plates referencing bullfights and the mythological Minotaur are accompanied by archival photographs of the artist attending bullfighting events.
While the show does not engage in a direct dialogue between Picasso and Asia—as the recent M+ exhibition in Hong Kong did before closing on July 13—Arroyo says it was tailored with Macau in mind. “I have sought specific content for Macau, which is looking for works where you can see Picasso’s idea of beauty, but at the same time mixed with drama, as can be seen in the works about bulls.”
Above ‘Picasso: Beauty and Drama’ (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
‘Picasso: Beauty and Drama’ (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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Karen Chang, director of Globe Creative—the firm behind the exhibition design—also draws parallels between Macau’s history and elements of Picasso’s art, despite the artist never having visited the city. She notes that Macau also had its days of bullfighting between 1996 and 1974—a result of Portuguese colonisation. In a section dedicated to Picasso’s ceramic works, her team decorated the display with broken pottery pieces. “It’s important to remember that ceramics and Macau had a very important relationship,” she says, referring to the city’s historical role as a hub for Chinese and Portuguese ceramic trade.
Beyond the show’s content, Chang also envisions the exhibition experience as one with a more immersive, personal touch. The design of the exhibition hall evokes the old town of Málaga, with each thematic section—porcelain, the Minotaur, depictions of women—housed in structures inspired by southern Spanish architecture. In the centre of the “courtyard” stands an artificial olive tree, surrounded by benches and alleyways lit by oil lamps. A scent installation releases the aroma of jasmine—common in both Málaga and China—blending the sensory experience of both cultures. “We want you to get lost in this space and explore the exhibition in the way you like it. It’s designed that way,” says Chang. The goal, she adds, is to make art discovery accessible and engaging, especially for families and newcomers.
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Above Picasso’s baby shoe (circa 1882) (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
Picasso’s baby shoe (circa 1882) (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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The exhibition succeeds in bringing out Picasso’s humanity, often through intimate details. When asked about his favourite piece, Arroyo names not a canvas but a personal relic: Picasso’s first baby shoe, dating to around 1882. “His mother said to him, ‘From the moment you start to walk, you start to use these shoes. That is a more important moment in life than even the day of birth. Because you discover freedom, you discover the world.’”
As if setting a tone for this Macau exhibition, the exhibition achieves something rare in contemporary museum programming: it places emotion and story alongside mastery and legacy, and makes room for both. In the shadows of greatness, it finds warmth. And in its quietest corners—an old sketch, a faded photograph, a tiny shoe—it reminds us that even giants of art were once small, wandering boys, learning how to walk.
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
