Musée Picasso

Vincent Van Gogh, L'Arlésienne

While I didn’t see a lot of new acquisitions at this museum, there are many reasons why the Musée Picasso feels so relevant today, beyond the quality of the art itself. The first exhibit you see when entering the Musée Picasso is dedicated to what the Nazis called “degenerate” art – work by artists including Pablo Picasso, Emile Nolde, George Grosz and Vincent Van Gogh, among others. From the time Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 until the end of the Second World War in 1945, Nazis ran a public campaign to suppress modern art. Over 1,400 artists (denounced as “idiots", "mentally ill", "criminals", "speculators", "Jews" and "Bolsheviks") were dismissed from teaching positions, banned from exhibiting and working, and subjected to physical threats. Many were forced into exile. The impact on their lives was abrupt and brutal. Works in public collections were confiscated and displayed in defamatory exhibitions, some were destroyed, and others sold.

Vincent Van Gogh was seen as the embodiment of the "mad" artist. Five of his paintings, three of which were never recovered, were removed from German museums in 1937. But several pieces were in private collections, including this portrait of Mrs Ginoux, proprietress of the Café de la Gare in Arles, which is titled L'Arlésienne, or “the woman from Arles.” This portrait was in the private collection of Marie-Anne von Goldschmidt-Rothschild in Berlin. Goldschmidt-Rothschild fled from Germany in 1938, initially to Paris and then to the U.S. She managed to salvage some of her collection, and donated this painting by Van Gogh to the French state on 25 August 1944, the day that Paris was liberated.

Van Gogh's portrait of Mrs Ginoux, proprietress of the Café de la Gare in Arles, which is titled L'Arlésienne, or “the woman from Arles.” The cafe's walls are a mustard yellow, and her complexion is sallow, but it is a loving portrait. — Vincent Van Gogh, *L'Arlésienne*, 1888

Franz Marc, Blue Horse II

Even German war heroes could land in the degenerate camp. Franz Marc, a founding member of The Blue Rider group of German expressionist painters, fought in the German army in World War I, and died on the battlefield of Verdun in March 1916. Nonetheless, five of his paintings were included in the "Degenerate Art" exhibition in 1937, causing outrage among those who saw the artist as a war hero. Following a letter of protest written by a group of German officers, one of his works was withdrawn from the exhibition, but the other four canvases remained.

This painting Blue Horse II (1911) was not in the Degenerate show, but is now hanging in the Picasso museum. Marc painted animals frequently, especially horses, as he believed they were pure and spiritual beings, closer to nature than man, and uncorrupted by modern society. The dynamic forms, bold colors, and emotional intensity of this piece are hallmarks of Expressionism, which sought to convey inner feelings rather than merely replicate the external world.

A painting of a blue horse by Franz Marc, a founder of The Blue Rider, a German expressionist group. Behind the blue horse is a second, pink horse, most likely a foal. — Franz Marc, *Blue Horse II,* 1911

Karl Hofer, Freundinnen

This painting Freundinnen by Karl Hofer was one of ten of his paintings included in the Degenerate exhibition. Two women are tenderly embracing, capturing a moment of shared vulnerability and friendship, with a somber landscape as a backdrop. Painted in 1924, during the post-WWI Weimar Republic, it could easily be seen as a sympathetic portrait of two women with shared sorrows. While the title translates to “girlfriends” (or “female friends) in English, there is no indication that Hofer meant it as a portrayal or celebration of lesbian lovers. Yet, that’s how the Nazis chose to see it, as a sign of “moral depravity”. The Nazis had tightened existing repressive legislation against homosexuality, interned thousands of people in camps for homosexuality, and banned or destroyed artworks depicting homosexuality. Hofer was dismissed as a professor because of his subject matter.

Later on, in 1938, Hofer was expelled from the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts because of his wife Mathilde's Jewish origins, making it illegal for him to exhibit and sell his works. The Nuremberg Laws had criminalized marriages between Jews and non-Jews, and remaining married not only threated his career, but also their lives. The Hofer’s agreed to divorce as a survival strategy. After their divorce in 1939, Karl Hofer had his art membership reinstated, but Mathilde suffered a terrible fate. She was arrested by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz, where she was murdered in 1942. Hofer never recovered from his wife’s death, and his late works grew increasingly dark.

Pablo Picasso, L'Aubade

Once you reach one of the top floors of the museum, there is another powerful painting with war-time overtones: L'Aubade, an oil on canvas by Picasso from 1942. The large (roughly 4 by 5 ½ feet) painting is one of the major works created by Picasso during the Nazi Occupation of Paris. “Aubade” is a poetic and musical term that traditionally refers to a song or poem about lovers parting at dawn, but Picasso’s use of dark grays and the prison-like box the lovers are in imparts a far gloomier mood that most aubades. A reclining nude, rendered in fractured planes and earthy tones, dominates the foreground. On the right, a brightly clothed figure strums a mandolin. Deep shadows, a compressed perspective, and the lack of any windows/openings give the scene a bunker‑like feel, reflecting the claustrophobia of war-time Paris and Picasso’s own confinement in his studio on the Rue des Grands‑Augustins. This painting was first presented at the «Salon d'Automne» in 1944, known as the Salon de la Libération.

L'Aubade was painted by Pablo Picasso during the Nazi occupation of Paris. A brightly clothed mandolin player serenades a reclining nude. Both are trapped inside a grey box-like enclosure or tomb. — Pablo Picasso, L'Aubade, 1942

Some art critics have commented on the tension in L'Aubade between the clothed musician/artist and the naked woman, questioning what that reveals about masculine control and female vulnerability, and finding echoes of Picasso’s own complicated relationships with women. Picasso’s affairs with his many female partners/muses were, by today’s standards, deeply troubling. While he claimed to rely on these women as muses, he was emotionally exploitative and controlling with them, and often cruel. Despite his unquestionably piggish behavior, Picasso’s portraits of his lovers are fascinating. Here are two that I love.

Picasso, Portrait de Marie-Thérèse Walter

I found this portrait of his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter so compelling that I sat in front of it for a long time, then walked around the rest of the floor, and came back and looked at it again. The all-over patterning is Matisse-like, with the cross-hatched patterning of the dress and the diamond-patterned armchair all in warm, soothing colors. Marie-Thérèse’s body is conveyed through rounded curves and pleasing hues. Marie-Thérèse represented a calm oasis to him, and there is a sense of languid serenity in this portrait.

When looking at this painting I do my best to block out the creepy aspects of the relationship between Picasso and all of his women, and the fact that Marie-Thérèse was only 17 and he was 45 (and married to Olga) when they first met and became lovers. Uggh. He was a pig, but it’s still a beautiful painting.

Picasso, *Portrait de Marie-Thérèse Walter,* 1937

Picasso, Portrait de Dora Maar

Contrast this to another portrait of (yet another) lover in the same room: the portrait of Dora Maar. Picasso often painted Dora in shattered planes and jagged outlines, reflecting their volatile relationship. It’s all angles and points, instead of serene curves. Her flesh is mostly an acidic, jarring yellow. But my first thought on seeing this portrait was of Cruella De Vil. Maybe it’s the fingernails? --which are enlarged and claw‑like. One can almost feel the pain they could inflict.

The age difference between the two of them was about the same as with Marie-Thérèse, but at least she wasn’t a teenager when they became lovers. (She was 28 and Picasso was 55.) The story about their first meeting illustrates the tension that was present from the start. They met at Café Les Deux Magots in Paris, where Dora was playing a “game” with a knife, stabbing between her fingers and occasionally drawing blood onto a white handkerchief. Picasso asked to keep the handkerchief and reportedly carried it with him for years. While Marie-Thérèse was an island of calm for him, Dora represented anguish and suffering to him; she served as the model for the iconic “Weeping Woman”. And he caused her much emotional suffering, especially at the end of their relationship when he began sleeping with Françoise Gilot while still with Dora. He cruelly invited both women to his studio at the same time, provoking a confrontation and the end of his relationship with Dora. Dora suffered a nervous breakdown after their breakup

My initial plan was to write two blogs on must-see art in Paris, but I still have a few more exhibits to cover, so stayed tuned for my third, and final, blog!! The first blog, if you haven’t read it, is on David Hockney 25 at the Fondation Louis Vuitton (which runs through August 31st, 2025) and the Musée de L'Orangerie’s permanent collection. You can read it here: https://www.marciacrumleyart.com/blog/paris-art-highlights

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Must-See Art in Paris (Blog #2)