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Wagner and Picasso |
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At the turn of the century in Barcelona a number of poets and artists, including Picasso, formed a literary group called Valhalla. Although the group's activities remain to this day something of a mystery, it seems from the name Valhalla, that Wagner and his operatic storytelling may have been one of their main interests. Wagner had been very popular throughout Europe and was at this time making an important impact on the cultural scene in Barcelona. His operas revived Norse and Arthurian legends with underlying mystical themes that an inspiration to the Symbolists and Modernistas with whom Picasso was associated. Picasso's interest in Wagner has not gone unreported; he almost certainly attended some of the Wagner operas that were performed at his favourite haunt, Els Quatre Ghats. The 1934 drawing contains an important Wagnerian theme that appears to be unique in Picasso's work. It depicts what is probably the most dramatic scene in 'Parsifal' - the moment when the spear that once killed Christ hovers over Parsifal's head after being hurled at him by the evil magician Klingsor. This passage in the opera had special symbolic significance for Picasso in 1934 because it related closely to his personal life at that time and also to his concern about the rise of Hitler and the threat of a second world war.
© Mark Harris 1996 Symbolism in the 1934 Drawing
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© Mark Harris 1996 (content), Simon Banton 1996 (design) In general copyright of works by Pablo Picasso are the property of the heirs to the Pablo Picasso estate |
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