Picasso: Linocuts from the British Museum

A unique opportunity to delve into the creative mind of one of the 20th century’s most recognisable and prolific artists.

With an unprecedented versatility and strength of style, Pablo Picasso pushed the boundaries of creativity throughout his lifetime. One of the most influential artists of the modern age, Picasso’s work is instantly recognisable.

Showcasing works created in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Picasso: Linocuts from the British Museum explores the artist’s expressive and experimental works with linocut techniques and ceramics. Produced when Picasso was over eighty years old, Still Life under the Lamp, Jacqueline Reading and Nude Woman at the Spring highlight his skilful yet risky approach.

Studying the method in detail, Picasso was able to confidently and often permanently alter his designs as he created a print, trialling new approaches to depth and composition. The bold simplification of shapes and figures that Picasso adopted in his linocuts was a style well suited to his experimental and highly inventive approach to decorating ceramics.

Acquired by the British Museum in 2014 (with the support of the Art Fund), this exhibition presents some of Picasso’s most important works in linocut, alongside a selection of ceramics on loan from Leicester Arts and Museums Service, by kind permission of the Estate of Lord and Lady Attenborough.

This exhibition was developed in partnership with the British Museum and National Museums Liverpool. Generously supported by the Dorset Foundation.