Picasso portrait of Olga in an armchair. Pablo picasso portrait of olga khokhlova in an armchair

10.07.2019

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It’s not customary to speak well of Pablo Picasso’s first wife. Olga Khokhlova was openly disliked by many of the artist's friends. And he himself did not skimp on unflattering assessments. And Picasso's biographers, who in fact knew about her only from his words, rarely honored Olga with serious attention. She was a ballerina, got married, gave birth to a son, lost her mind. But why was this woman so attracted to Picasso? Was their married life unhappy from the start? And how did Olga feel, before whose eyes Pablo's mistresses were replaced, while she remained his lawful wife until the end of her days?

Olga Khokhlova and Pablo Picasso in 1917.

Picasso came to Rome at the beginning of 1917 to unwind and recover from his love dramas. In December 1915, his beloved Marcel Humbert, known among Parisian artists as Eva Guell, died. He dedicated dozens of cubist paintings to her under the names "Ma jolie" (My beauty) and "I love Eve." However, after her death, Picasso quickly came to his senses, started a new relationship and was even going to get married. But at the last moment, the bride changed her mind. The 35-year-old artist was ready to settle down (at least, so he thought then), to have children. He needed peace and harmony, a "safe haven" to heal his wounds. Olga Khokhlova became such a "haven" for Picasso.

Olga Khokhlova dancing

Girl from a good family

Olga was born on June 17, 1891 in the Ukrainian Nizhyn in the family of Colonel of the Imperial Army Stepan Vasilyevich Khokhlov. The stern father did not approve of his daughter's hobby for ballet, but the girl's mother, Lydia, after the family moved to Kiev, began to secretly take Olga to classes. At the same time, both parents were against her becoming a professional dancer. So, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, Olga ran away from them to Sergei Diaghilev. At the time of her acquaintance with Picasso, she had been dancing with the troupe for five years.

And about the professional abilities of Olga Khokhlova, and about her appearance, there are very contradictory memories. Someone from the troupe said that she was completely "none", and it was not clear what was so attracted to Picasso in her. Some, on the contrary, compared her with the "Russian Madonnas". Olga was called a mediocre dancer, and Picasso's beloved Françoise Zhilot wrote about him in her book that Diaghilev kept Khokhlova in the troupe only because of her attractive appearance and noble birth. This is a very controversial statement, since Sergei Diaghilev, known for pickiness and perfectionism, did not tolerate mediocrity and certainly would not have let out a mediocre ballerina on the stage just for “beautiful eyes”. It is known, however, that Olga was not a "prima", but, of course, had a certain amount of talent, good technique and remarkable hard work.

Pablo Picasso. Group of dancers
1920

Challenge accepted!

In relatively calm Rome, Picasso, far from the everyday life of war, quickly perked up and began to work on the scenery and costumes for Diaghilev's ballet Parade. The Parisian Cubists were horrified: their idol traded them for frivolous "art for the elite." Picasso did not care about their complaints and attacks. He had long wanted to visit Rome, to distract himself from thoughts about whether he did the right thing when he chose life and art instead of war and probable death. Plus, a new love is on the horizon.

When he saw Olga for the first time, Pablo blurted out with admiration: "You look amazing." He began to charm and conquer the girl with all the strength of his hot Andalusian temperament. The first surprise for Picasso was that Olga took his advances somehow very restrained and said that with his pressure he compromises her. Even more he was struck by her chastity. Noticing that the artist was seriously carried away by Khokhlova, Sergei Diaghilev warned him that a Russian girl from a noble family would not sacrifice her innocence if she was not sure that the man was ready to marry her. Well, for Picasso it was just another challenge. Olga's secrecy and reticence inflamed him even more. He was even ready to marry, just to get this woman. After all, he was going to settle down, so why not with her?

Pablo Picasso and Olga Khokhlova in Rome. 1917 g.

The premiere of Parade took place in Paris on May 18, 1917 at the Châtelet Theater. Jean Cocteau, who was also working on the production, then stated: “The audience wanted to kill us! We were attacked by women armed with hat pins. Compared to what happened that evening at Châtelet, the bayonet attacks in Flanders were a trifle. "Parade" became the greatest battle of the entire war "... These fictions, calculated to draw more attention to the production, angered those injured in the trenches. Of course, during the premiere of Diaghilev's ballet, indignant exclamations sounded, but the applause drowned them out.

From Paris, Diaghilev's troupe went to Barcelona. At that time, the question of Pablo and Olga's marriage had already been resolved, and the artist introduced the bride to his mother. Dona Maria received the girl warmly, went to her performances, but nevertheless found it necessary to warn her: “Poor girl, you have no idea what you are setting yourself up for. If I were your friend, I would advise you not to marry him under any pretext. I don't think that even one woman can be happy with my son, who is only concerned with himself. "... Olga, by that time already recklessly in love, did not listen to the words of Dona Maria.

Pablo Picasso. Olga Khokhlova in a mantilla
1917, 64 × 53 cm

Pablo and Olga spent several months in Barcelona. They could not return to Paris, because Olga did not have a visa. When she was a member of Diaghilev's troupe, she could freely cross the borders, but now difficulties arose with obtaining documents. Only a few spoke French here, no one spoke Russian at all. Picasso became practically the only point of support for the girl, especially after the revolution broke out in Russia, and Khokhlova was completely cut off from her family. Her father and three brothers were killed, her mother and sister hastily moved to Georgia. Olga spent almost all the time with her fiance, he constantly painted her, and even returned to the classical style for the sake of her beloved, who wanted to recognize herself in portraits. Soon, Pablo obtained permission to spend the night in her room. Diaghilev's troupe went on tour to South America without her. Olga never went on stage anymore.

Another Olga

Their wedding was originally scheduled for May 1918, but had to be postponed. One morning Olga woke up with a terrible pain in her leg and could not get out of bed. She underwent surgery and was put in a plaster cast until the end of June. At the wedding ceremony, which took place on July 12, the bride leaned on a cane, and immediately after a festive breakfast she returned to the hospital.

During their honeymoon, which Olga and Pablo spent in Biarritz, she was still recovering from her injury and spent most of her time in a chair or sun lounger. This is exactly how Picasso painted her: serious, melancholic, always a little detached and always without a smile. This is how the audience saw and represented her. This is how Pablo's friends saw her, mistaking restraint for snobbery and arrogance.

Pablo Picasso. Portrait of Olga Khokhlova
1918

Olga and Pablo Picasso on their honeymoon. 1918 g.

The first exhibition of Picasso's works, dedicated exclusively to Olga Khokhlova, took place only in March 2017 at the Paris Picasso Museum. And what was the surprise of the visitors when they saw a completely different Olga. Smiling happily in early photos, laughing and playing with dogs in Pablo's family videos. On one of them, Olga wonders on the petals of a flower: “loves - does not love”. And in a photograph taken by Picasso in his studio already in the late 1920s, the artist's slender and elegant wife sits in an armchair against the background of a nude portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter. There was, apparently, some kind of sadistic plan in this: to humiliate a disgusted, unsuspecting wife, by placing her next to the desired mistress.

Pablo Picasso. Olga with sewing
1920, 34.7 × 23.9 cm

Pablo Picasso. Olga with her hair down
1920, 105 × 75.5 cm

Olga at a villa in Juan-les-Pins. 1925 g.

But this will not happen soon. In the meantime, the newlyweds, who returned from their honeymoon, settled in luxury apartments on La Boesi street. The residence of the Picasso couple was strictly divided into two parts - male and female. Olga furnished her (or rather, the common) part elegantly and stylishly and strictly monitored cleanliness and order (pedantry was also among the features for which the artist's bohemian friends did not like her). This is how Brassai described this dwelling: “A spacious dining room with a large sliding table, a serving table, in each corner there is a round table on one leg; the living room is designed in white tones, in the bedroom there is a double bed trimmed with copper. Everything was thought out to the smallest detail, and nowhere was a speck of dust, parquet and furniture shone. " In the second part of the house, Pablo reigned supreme: here was his workshop, in which chaos reigned in accordance with his temperament. And here, by the way, was kept a box with things that Picasso kept in memory of his first great love - Fernande Olivier.

Bohemian friends and colleagues condemned Picasso for becoming a real bourgeois. Guilty, of course, was appointed his wife. However, the artist himself willingly began to play the role of a respectable gentleman and respectable husband. He began to dress in expensive suits, accompanied Olga to balls and hosted the Parisian high society. And his former friends were, as they would say now, too "informal" and did not fit well into the interior of the living room.

Pablo Picasso. In the salon on rue La Boesy: Jean Cocteau, Olga, Eric Satie, Clive Bell
In the salon on rue La Boesy: Jean Cocteau, Olga, Eric Satie, Clive Bell
1919, 49 × 61.2 cm

The Picasso couple at the ball of the Comte de Beaumont. 1924 g.

Declaration of Independence

On February 4, 1921, Olga Picasso gave birth to a son, who was named Paul (Paulo). At first, Pablo could not get enough of the appearance of an heir. He endlessly painted his son in his wife's arms and shone with pride and fatherly love. However, Olga was overprotective of her offspring and, according to Picasso's biographer John Richardson, she became even more accustomed to the role of a socialite, the wife of a great artist, and now also the mother of the family. By that time, Pablo had either already played enough of a "decent" bourgeois, or was tired of friends' attacks on his lifestyle. He said to one of his models: “You see, Olga loves tea, caviar and cakes. And I - sausage with beans ".

Pablo Picasso. Mother and child
1922, 100.3 × 81.4 cm

Olga and Paulo. 1928 g.

Pablo Picasso. Family at sea
1922, 17 × 22 cm

In the summer of 1922, Olga fell seriously ill - for the first time, gynecological problems made themselves felt, from which she would suffer until the end of her days. The drawing, made by the sanguine in September of the same year, depicts Olga exhausted and sick. 41 years later, the artist, who was superstitiously afraid of everything connected with illness and death, presented this drawing for Christmas to his son Paulo.

The couple Picassos continued to be the pillars of the Parisian beau monde. Countless dinner parties and social events bored Pablo, but he made useful acquaintances at them. At that time, another reason for the discord between the spouses was Olga's attitude to her son. According to the artist, she spoiled and took care of the boy too much. Picasso's constant irritation found a way out in his paintings. Very soon, classicism in the spirit of Ingres will give way under the onslaught of new revolutionary changes. In the summer of 1923, the artist bought an apartment on the floor above and began to lead an even more independent life than usual. None of the servants were allowed to enter, and even Olga had to ask permission to pay a visit to her husband. Picasso was rarely at home and again began to go to brothels.

Pablo Picasso. Olga lost in thought
1923, 105 × 74 cm

Pablo Picasso. Olga's portrait
1923, 130 × 97 cm

Passion and hate

1927 was the beginning of the end for the Picassos. In January, Pablo met 17-year-old Marie-Thérèse Walter. To hide the affair from his wife, he rented a dating apartment near the place where he met the girl. To hide it from everyone else, Picasso painted it in the form of a guitar, jug, or fruit platter. And he painted several notebooks with erotic pictures. It is noteworthy that at the same time the artist continued to live under the same roof with Olga, who, according to him, tormented him with scenes of jealousy and was not going to give up the role of an elegant wife and an impeccable hostess. However, Pablo himself was not going to get divorced. The mask of an exemplary family man served him as an excellent cover.

The double life, of course, was reflected in the paintings of Picasso. And as far as the images of Marie-Therese were filled with unbridled sexuality, the pictures with Olga or dedicated to her are full of rage. But for quite a long time, Picasso managed to make sure that these parallel lives did not intersect. Even when the artist was vacationing with his family on the Riviera, at every opportunity he ran to Marie-Thérèse, whom he settled nearby. During this vacation, Olga began to have severe bleeding again, she was forced to return to Paris and underwent another operation. In total, she spent almost five months in the hospital, only occasionally returning home. All this time, Picasso could freely meet with Marie-Therese.

Pablo Picasso. Nude, green leaves and bust
1932, 162 × 130 cm

Pablo Picasso. Bullfighting. Death of a woman bullfighter
1933, 21.7 × 27 cm

Of course, at some point, Olga guessed the existence of a rival. And although she did not seem to perceive Marie-Therese as a serious threat to their marriage to Pablo, she did not want to put up with humiliation either. But the tears and admonitions of his wife caused only anger and guilt in Picasso. In 1929 he writes Nude in a Red Chair. Without directly naming the heroine's name, the artist put into this canvas all his growing hatred for Olga. Broken limbs, an open mouth in agony ... Unable to remove her from his life, Picasso mercilessly disfigured a woman on canvas, whom he painted with such love in another chair just 10 years ago.

Pablo Picasso. Portrait of Olga in an armchair
1917, 130 × 89 cm

Pablo Picasso. Nude in a red armchair.
1929 195 × 129 cm

On the wreckage of happiness

Another humiliation awaited Olga at a large-scale retrospective of Picasso in 1932. Her husband's passion for another woman appeared before her in its entirety - from one shameless picture to another. But, oddly enough, the couple continued to live together. The last straw for Olga was the pregnancy of Marie-Therese Walter. Taking her son, Olga moved out of the apartment on La Boesi Street, leaving her at the complete disposal of her husband. Soon she instructed her lawyer to draw up an inventory of all Picasso's property, which the artist never forgave her. He also refused to give his wife a divorce, because in this case, half of his paintings would have gone to her. Until the last day of her life, Olga remained Madame Picasso.

Has Olga really lost her mind? There is no unequivocal confirmation of this. One of Picasso's biographers writes that Olga made a big mistake, putting everything on her fickle husband. She completely devoted herself to her family and lived only in the interests of Picasso, never managing to become independent. Disgraced and crushed, she was left completely alone. Even beloved Paulo grew up and began to brush her off with the same irritation as his father. Olga desperately clung to happy moments from the past. That is why she stalked Picasso in the streets, reminding him that before God they are still husband and wife. Therefore, I wrote letters to him and sent photographs of her son. Therefore, she moved to Pablo in Cannes, where she wandered from one hotel to another.

Pablo Picasso with Jacqueline Roque and Jean Cocteau at the bullfight in Vallauris. 1955 g.

In 1953, Olga fell seriously ill. Cancer ate her body long and painfully. She spent the last months in the hospital, begging everyone who visited her to call Pablo. These requests were conveyed to the artist, but he never once visited his wife. Continuing to cling to the past in despair, Olga recalled the days when she danced on stage and dreamed of coming to Russia again. The only thing left of her former life was a steamer chest filled with old suits, empty perfume bottles, letters and hundreds of photographs. Olga spent her last days sorting through and examining things that reminded her of her lost happiness. Madame Picasso died on February 11, 1955.

Olga Khokhlova in stage costume for the "Scheherazade" ballet. OK. 1916 g.

P.S.
Pablo Picasso survived his first wife by 18 years. Once the artist said: “ My death will be like a shipwreck. When an ocean liner goes under the water, all nearby boats are drawn into the funnel. ".

Françoise Gilot, who was fortunate enough to survive this shipwreck, gave perhaps the most accurate definition of Picasso: “Numerous stories and memories of Pablo about Olga, Marie-Therese and Dora Maar, their constant presence behind the scenes of our life together gradually led me to the conclusion that Pablo had a kind of Bluebeard complex, causing the desire to chop off the heads of all the women gathered in his a small private museum. But he did not completely chop off their heads, he preferred that life go on, and all the women who lived with him at one time or another, nevertheless, squeaked slightly audibly, made some gestures, like dismembered dolls. This gave him the feeling that life was still glowing in them, that it was hanging on a thread, and the other end of this thread was in his hand. ".

Not so long ago, on June 17 of this year, the ballerina from Diaghilev's troupe Olga Khokhlova, who went down in history as Picasso, turned 125 years old. For almost ten years she was the Russian Muse for Pablo Picasso, a model for his paintings, wife and mother of his son.
Olga Khokhlova was met by Picasso when the Diaghilev ballet "Russian Seasons in Paris" was on tour in Paris with great triumph.
Despite the free European morals and temptations that surrounded the girl, Olga, an aristocrat by birth and apparently by spirit, lived in her own world. Most likely, it was this dissimilarity from others, good education and discipline that could make a very strong impression on Pablo Picasso.
It was also important that Olga was Russian. In those years, Picasso, the great revolutionary in art, was extremely interested in everything Russian. Having met Khokhlova, Picasso often asked her to speak Russian. He enjoyed the very sound of foreign speech. He was even going to learn the language of this mysterious country for him, he closely followed the development of events in Russia, the February Revolution. Apparently, all this gave the ballerina a special romantic-revolutionary flair in his eyes.

Picasso soon became interested in Olga, with all his characteristic temperament. "Be careful," Diaghilev warned him with a grin, "Russian girls must be married." "You are kidding," answered the artist, who claimed that he remains the master in any situation.

1920 Danseuse assise (Olga Picasso)

Outwardly, Khokhlova and Picasso were very different from each other. He is stocky. She is slim, tall, graceful. But, of course, the main differences were in outlook on life. Before meeting Olga, the 36-year-old artist put pleasure at the forefront and knew a huge number of women. The ballerina, at the age of 27, was a virgin and clearly did not plan to become another easy "prey" for Pablo.

Portraits of Olga Khokhlova 1917

Picasso behaved with Olga in a special way, not like with others. He not only made the girl an official proposal, but also led the dancer down the aisle. For Khokhlova, this was a natural step, for Picasso, who does not believe in God, the desire to please his beloved.

Picasso painted her a lot in a purely realistic manner. The ballerina herself insisted on this, who did not like experiments in painting that she did not understand. "I want," she said, "to recognize my face."

In Barcelona, Picasso introduced Olga to his mother. She warmly received the Russian girl, went to performances with her participation, but once warned: "With my son, who was created only for himself and for no one else, no woman can be happy." In Barcelona, the artist painted her "Hispanicized" portrait in a mantilla, which he presented to her mother.

On July 12, 1918, the wedding ceremony of Pablo Picasso and Olga Khokhlova took place at the City Hall of the 7th Parisian arrondissement. From there they went to the Russian Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky on Daru Street, where the wedding took place. The service was Orthodox.
Picasso was convinced that he would marry for life, and therefore an article was included in his marriage contract that their property was in common. In the event of a divorce, this meant dividing him equally, including all the paintings.
The groom's witnesses were Jean Coque-to, Marc Jacob and Guillaume Apollinaire, the great poet of France and Poland.
The wedding was magnificent, luxurious, and after it the young people left for their honeymoon trip.

19017

1921 g.

In France, they settled in a small house in the Parisian suburb of Montrouge - with a servant, dogs, birds and a thousand other objects that accompanied the artist everywhere. Olga spoke good French, albeit with a strong Russian accent, and loved to listen to long fantastic stories. that Pablo told her
in Montrouge, he painted the famous "Portrait of Olga in an Armchair", which is now on display in the Paris Picasso Museum. Comparing it with the photograph taken at the time of posing, it is easy to see that the artist has somewhat embellished her features.

1917 Portrait d "Olga dans un fauteuil

In family life, Picasso has not lost his great capacity for work, striving for perfection. He painted portraits of Diaghilev, Stravinsky, Bakst, Cocteau. He painted Olga for his first lithograph, which was used for an invitation card to his exhibition.

On February 4, 1921, their son Paul (Paulo) was born. At the age of 40, Picasso became a father for the first time. He made endless drawings of his son and wife, marking on them not only the day, but also the hour. All of them are made in the neoclassical style, and the women in his image resemble Olympic deities.

1921

1921

Olga Picasso con el pequeño Paulo, 1923

The artist seemed to follow the advice of Van Gogh, who wrote in a letter to his brother Theo: "exaggerate the most essential." In those years, Picasso "Searches in painting do not matter. Only discoveries are important ... We all know that art is not truth. Art is a lie, but this lie teaches us to comprehend the truth, at least the truth that we are, people are able to comprehend. "

Portraits of Paulo's son

Throughout his life, his main passion was creativity, in the name of which he was ready to sacrifice everything. Picasso often talked about the 16th-century French ceramist Bernard de Palisy, who threw his furniture there to keep the fire burning in the kiln. Picasso was very fond of this story and saw in it a real example of "burning" in the name of art. He himself argued that he would have thrown both his wife and children into the furnace - if only the fire did not go out in her.
“Every time I change a woman,” Picasso said, “I have to burn the last one. Thus, I get rid of them. They will no longer be around me and complicate my life. my youth. By killing a woman, they destroy the past that she personifies. " The artist liked to repeat that only work and women prolong life.

Olga felt: Picasso began to change his artistic style. By the way, this was inherent in him: whenever he had a new woman, Pablo changed his creative style. And now he stopped painting ballerinas, began to be burdened by the acquaintances that his wife imposed on him, to avoid Russian emigrants. Olga was desperate. She did not know how to prevent the impending rift ...

The heart of Picasso was conquered by the 17-year-old Frenchwoman Marie-Thérèse Walter. This girl with the face of a child at the time she met Pablo did not know anything about him and about art in general, she had completely different hobbies. But already a middle-aged artist could easily seduce the young beauty. Their passionate romance brought Olga incredible suffering.
The artist himself once said that he divides all women into “goddesses” and “floor rugs”, according to this logic Olga, with the appearance of Marie-Therese, became the “rug” about which Pablo, without hesitation, wiped his feet every day.

Picasso began to take out his hatred of her in painting. In a series of paintings dedicated to bullfighting, he depicted her either as a horse or as an old shrew. Explaining the reasons for their breakup later, the artist will say: "She wanted too much from me ... It was the worst period in my life."
They did not divorce, so Picasso wanted not to divide the property
according to the marriage contract.
Due to strong feelings, Khokhlova began to have a nervous depression, with which she lived until the end of her days. Olga died in 1955 of cancer in Cannes and was buried in the local cemetery. Pablo did not come to say goodbye to the woman he once idolized. He had a completely different life, in it there was no place for his former lover and the mother of his son.

The Paris Picasso Museum contains more than a hundred letters from Olga addressed to her husband, but so far access to them is closed.

PABLO PICASSO Woman Reading

On June 6, 1975, Paulo Picasso, the son of the artist and Olga, died at the age of 54 from cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcohol and drugs. His two children, Marina and Bernard, were among the heirs. All heirs were given the right to take one of the artist's works as a souvenir. Marina chose a painting depicting her very young grandmother, Olga Khokhlova.

1917

1920 Danseuse assise (Olga Picasso)

Portraits of Olga Khokhlova 1917

1917 Portrait d "Olga dans un fauteuil

Olga Picasso con el pequeño Paulo, 1923

Portraits of Paulo's son

The Paris Picasso Museum contains more than a hundred letters from Olga addressed to her husband, but so far access to them is closed.

PABLO PICASSO Woman Reading

Source http://www.liveinternet.ru/community/camelot_club/post393142010/

Title, eng.: Portrait of Olga in the Armchair.
original name: Portrait d "Olga dans un fauteuil.
Year of ending: 1917.
Dimensions (edit): 130 × 89 cm.
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Location: Paris, Picasso Museum

The years 1916-1925 are considered the period when Picasso unexpectedly returned to the classical portrait, transparent outlines, light tones, regular features of appearances and figures appear in the paintings. Why during these years? Art critics explain this revolution in his work by external circumstances. First, Georges Braque, with whom they "invented" and improved Cubism, went to the front. At this time, Picasso himself was invited to Italy, to design a performance for Diaghilev's troupe, and he fell into the environment of classical ballet and the ancient atmosphere of Rome. Direct collaboration with the Russian Ballet influenced the artist, who in his work began to turn to the visual techniques and subjects of classical art. And most importantly, during this period, a charming Russian woman (who became his official wife) lived next to him and was inspired by Olga Khokhlova, a ballerina of Sergei Diaghilev's troupe. Numerous portraits of the ballerina are some of the most captivating works ever written by the artist, even though they somewhat puzzled the society of the time with their slightly classical orientation and parody. Olga did not like the uncertainty in painting, she could not stand the creative search of Picasso and insisted on being recognizable on the canvases and the artist fulfilled her request as long as he could. Picasso's feelings for Olga were also manifested in the fact that at first he embellished his wife everywhere on canvases. It is unlikely that Pablo did it deliberately, most likely, this is how he saw Olga, whose tender charm fascinated him. This period is full of tenderness and love, and it is not clear what is more important for him - inspiration or love, but maybe these feelings are simply inseparable in his life. For some, Olga Khokhlova was an average ballerina, not outstanding beauty and not high intelligence. The artist's friends, deprived of the pink glasses of love, saw in her an unremarkable bourgeois woman. Many claimed that in life she was much simpler and less interesting than in these portraits - but when was a loving gaze objective? He idealized her, made her a deity, saw her like that, and we have no right to argue here. For Picasso, who tried prostitutes, and bisexual models, and tubercular beauties, and dark-skinned girls from Martinique, Olga was so ordinary that she was considered exotic. But there was also some kind of mystery in it. This time it was not the mystery of another reality, but the secret of another country. Picasso found something exciting in all of Russian.

As you know, Picasso's companions in paintings were often the personification of what he thinks of them. When he loved his women, they were beautiful; when he got tired of them, they became frightening. But we must remember that Picasso created a picture exclusively for himself, he had no intentions that everyone would see it. Olga attracted him not only as a man, but also as a creator who not only sees, but feels her beauty, for him this beauty is pure, perfect, a little naive. But unfortunately, over time, she became just an abandoned muse for the artist, nothing more.

The most expressive painting of these years is the Portrait of Olga in an Armchair (1917). It was written in Montrouge, a southern suburb of Paris, shortly after they met. His love for Olga inspires him, her Slavic beauty is traditional, real, and it is not surprising that she was created in a realistic manner. The portrait is based on a photograph of Olga seated on an armchair in Picasso's dirty studio, with random drawings on the wall, African sculptures and rags on the floor. In the painting, Pablo decided not to show the workshop - instead, he left the canvas partially unpainted, did not go into details, replaced it with an abstract empty beige space, with the exception of a few imaginary lines and brushstrokes. It is strange that the model casts a shadow on an empty background, because this was not found in the photo. Comparing the portrait with the picture taken at the time of posing, it is easy to see that the artist has slightly embellished his facial features. The photo shows a seated and melancholic Olga in a beautiful floral dress that Picasso bought her at La Rambla in Barcelona. The artist asked Olga to comb her hair in a parted part in order to emphasize the correctness of her facial features. He kept this photograph as proof of the idealization of the image of his model.

He made Olga a sculpture - his own fetish of fertility, displaying a portrait of her soul. Here, a certain stiffness of feelings is noticeable, which was little characteristic of Picasso, a gravitation for balance, clarity of form. The finely polished drawing, the harmony of the composition - all this brought the aroma of ancient art to the painting. Her figure is outlined in a continuous contour and at the same time preserves the naturalness of plasticity and movement. Despite the glowing colors, the painting has an air of artificiality, Olga looks isolated in empty space. Picasso saw in Olga an amazing inner calmness, restraint, clarity of feelings. The portrait of Olga in an armchair is unique in that it makes it possible not only to see "in color" what a ballerina was like back in 1917, but also to re-evaluate the possibilities of the painter Picasso. It is evident that he loved this woman, that he appreciated her Russian beauty, for her sake he changed his style, became softer. The classical style was reflected in everything - a calmly smooth line, a whimsical play of shades, languid Spanish flavor. At the same time, he subtly conveys the mystery and charm of the Russian soul with the help of some precise details: the model's pale skin, her indefinite posture - either sitting or standing, a distant look. The original style of performance is involved: the play of volumes is thrown on a flat background, which makes the woman seem to soar in space. We can see that he has made brush strokes on the left, as if he is still going on, and will continue, but he stops. Some scientists see Picasso in the gray shadow image to the right of Olga's head - wavy areas, similar to the outlines of the lips and chin, and above them a long nose line. It all looks like a profile of a person, the creation of an ethereal presence that haunts the portrait. This is interesting, because he does this in later works, and in part it can be seen as a shadow of his own presence in her, contemplation.

The fragile figure of Olga in a dress is solved in almost black, brownish-purple tones, and only the white thin face of the model, beautiful hands, a high girlish neck, bright flowers on a fan and fabric thrown over the back of the chair, as if by flashes illuminate the space. The richness of combinations - black and red, gold and white, terracotta and black make the portrait elegant, almost ceremonial. This portrait is simply beautiful, it is natural, besides, the mystery in the face makes you look closely over and over again. It seems that when he wrote Olga he had a smile on his face, no aggression. There is such a feeling that this is exactly the woman of his whom he was ready to protect - only here one can feel tenderness. True, there is no life, active beauty, delighted and inspired, it is very beautiful, colorful, but frozen. Despite the fact that Olga is sitting here in a rather free pose, it seems that she is a little awkward. She poses awkwardly, there is tension in the pose, but she is natural. And most importantly, the portrait is deeply psychological. He also offers a new look at the characteristics of Picasso's beloved. Vulnerable, touchy and withdrawn nature of Olga - at a glance. More like a lost child, she does not even try to "sit" in a chair like a "proud mistress of the situation." Both the fan and the flowers on the upholstery of the armchair - the entire bright decorative entourage lives a life separate from it. Olga seems even more fragile, even more lonely, surrounded by a "cheerful" wealth of colors. The unexpected orange-beige, even, empty background of the wall behind the chair, in which Pablo's beloved is sitting, brings in a vague sense of anxiety and uncertainty, a note of drama. As if something was wrong in the picture, something was missing - as if someone had to enter or, on the contrary, disappear. And the model itself is too light for the heavy chair and for this empty background wall. She - sitting with a closed face, detached - at the festival of colors like a stranger. With an irresistible force of resistance, the image created by the artist breaks out of the “frames” assigned to him for the ceremonial portrait. In this Olga, immersed in her thoughts, there is not a grain, not a molecule of a challenge to the world, the image of a fragile girl does not in any way correlate with the legend created later about the heavy and imperious character of Picasso's Russian wife. The portrait of Olga in the armchair is fraught with many other surprises and revelations. Instead of the fashionable "Spanish woman" in the portrait, a simple and sweet Moscow young lady appeared in a completely incomprehensible way. By the will of heaven or providence, Olga Khokhlova turned out to be wearing a dress reminiscent of the Empire style - with a high waist, she has a classic smooth hairstyle, the curves of her hair elegantly harmonize with the curved edge of her neckline, and in her hands she holds a folded fan. And it's not just the model's appearance and small details. The portrait has echoes of the traditional romantic Russian and Western portrait of the early 19th century. One way or another, it seems very significant that Picasso not only used his favorite color combinations of portraits of the first quarter of the 19th century - gold, bronze and black, terracotta and white - but captured and brought out into the light of day the very essence of this modest Russian young lady, who remained Olga ... Even if the artist did not look so far and, perhaps, wanted to portray something completely different, but instinctively, brilliantly, unintentionally - he hit the mark again and again. And this most famous psychological portrait of Olga Khokhlova can be considered a kind of mystical "corridor" along which one can easily walk past and future times, explain everything and understand everything. But if only everyone could look so far!

It was love with a sad ending. It is a pity that this beautiful love story ended so sadly, in which the Russian ballerina played the most striking role in her life. Her attentive female gaze followed from afar the work of the genius, whom she continued to love, without even understanding him. She died as Olga Picasso, officially remaining the artist's wife, as if letting him know that she continued to love him in her own way all these years. Passion and tenderness come to us in different ways, but each love is beautiful in its own way and, whatever one may say, it is still immortal ...

The portrait of Olga in an armchair is the property of the National Picasso Museum in Paris, where more than a hundred of her letters addressed to her husband are kept. However, access to them is still closed. Undoubtedly, they would help to better understand their complex relationship and the role that the Russian ballerina played in the life of the great maestro. In 2010, in connection with the reconstruction of the Paris Museum, a grandiose Picasso exhibition was held at the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin. The domestic public owed this event, first of all, to the Year of France in Russia. The exhibition was also supplemented by works by Picasso from the collection of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and was one of the largest in Russia over the past 50 years. It was the main cultural event of the year. Also, the museum's archive has rare photographs of Picasso, Olga Khokhlova and their son Paul, which were acquired in 1973 from Lyudmila Nikolaevna Mitina, whose stepfather Vladimir Stepanovich was the brother of the artist's wife.

More than 250 works (among them Portrait of Olga in an Armchair) from the Picasso Museum in Paris will be on display at the Royal Palace in Milan. This exhibition "Pablo Picasso: Masterpieces from the National Picasso Museum in Paris" will take place from 20 September 2012 to 6 January 2013.

On August 26, 1894, Elena Dmitrievna Dyakonova was born in Kazan, who in the future became the famous Gala, the wife and source of inspiration for the great Salvador Dali.

Let's remember who inspired Dali, Matisse and Picasso? Olga, Elena and Lydia. Let's take a look at the portraits of amazing Russian women who for many years were companions of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.

Pablo Picasso. Portrait of Olga in an armchair. 1917. Picasso Museum, Paris, France.

Muse of legal marriage

"Portrait of Olga in an armchair" he wrote at the very beginning of their acquaintance. Fragile, graceful, withdrawn, melancholic - such was Olga Stepanovna Khokhlova, a ballerina of the legendary troupe of Sergei Diaghilev. She captivated Picasso so much that for her sake the 37-year-old abstractionist temporarily changed his style and returned to realism. After all, she asked him: "I want to recognize my face in the portraits ..." And she came out recognizable - both in other portraits, and in this one - perhaps the most famous.

Olga Khokhlova in the chair. Around 1917.

The painting is based on a photograph of Olga in the Picasso workshop, so we have a rare opportunity to compare how the artist in love saw her and how the impartial camera saw her. In all the portraits of the early years of their marriage, Olga is the same as in this one, seen through the prism of falling in love - pensive, airy, ideal. A real "Russian soul".

Pablo Picasso. Portrait of Olga Khokhlova in a mantilla. 1917. Picasso Museum, Malaga, Spain.

However, can a genius be content with a single muse? Picasso lasted for ten whole years. The further, the more his wife annoyed him. And now - no tenderness, the artist paints Olga in the form of an old woman, then in the form of a horse (in a series of paintings dedicated to bullfighting). Or draws her in the same abstract style that Olga did not like so much. Picasso had a new hobby, and in the end Olga could not stand it and left. He will not give her a divorce - so as not to share the pictures. Until her death, she will remain the official wife of Picasso. But it will cease to be a muse.

Salvador Dali. Atomic Leda. 1949. Dali Theater-Museum, Figueres, Spain.

Muse of the inner world

"Atomic Leda" - one of the most widely circulated works - was written several years after the atomic bombing of Japan. But for the great surrealist, what is happening in the real world is just an excuse to talk about what was happening in his inner world. And there his wife reigned, his magnificent Gala. In the canvas, she becomes the new Ice, and Dali himself becomes Jupiter, a swan, soaring nearby and almost never touching her beloved. "A sublime experience of libido" - this is how the artist will explain the image. Probably, their relationship can be characterized as follows.

Salvador Dali and Gala.

Gala is a nickname that translates as "holiday". And its owner was a real fireworks for her men. Before meeting Dali, she managed to be the muse of the French poet Paul Eluard (and even marry him) and the German artist Max Ernst. But she did not hesitate to leave everyone for the sake of Dali, who at that time was ten years younger than her and still not very famous. And he submitted to her with delight.

Salvador Dali "The Corpuscular Azure Ascension of the Madonna", 1952.

Gala will become Dali's wife, secretary, manager and even a nanny - in short, everything. But, most importantly, she will become his muse. And if the artist in the picture we see a female image, we can be almost sure that it is she. It's amazing: no matter how crazy the world he has built around her, she herself is almost always written realistically. It can be poetically assumed that Gala was the only real reality of Salvador Dali.

Henri Matisse. Girl in a blue blouse (Portrait of Lydia Delectorskaya). 1939. State Hermitage.

Muse of a happy old age

There are so many portraits of Lydia Delectorskaya that it is difficult to choose the most famous one. Matisse himself admitted: “When I'm bored, I make a portrait of Madame Lydia. I know her like a letter. " Here, for example, is a portrait of 1939, painted at the very beginning of the Second World War. Golden hair, a blue blouse (judging by other canvases, the artist liked to paint it in blue). A calm, soulful young face, on which not lips smile, but eyes. It was this portrait that Lydia herself once brought to the Soviet Union and gave it to the Hermitage. The 1947 painting, also donated to the Hermitage, is at first glance more abstract, the lines of the face are simplified - but the girl's cute face remains recognizable.

Henri Matisse and Lydia Delectorskaya.

Russian émigré Lydia, forced to seek a livelihood after an unsuccessful marriage, knocked on the door of Matisse's workshop in search of work in 1932, when she was 22. She was lucky to become an assistant to a foreman, a secretary, and, in addition, a nurse for his disabled wife. It is unlikely then, having met the 65-year-old master, she could have assumed that she would become his favorite model, muse and such a close person that, as she later admitted, “was for 20 years“ the light of his eyes, ”and he for me - the only meaning of life. "

Henri Matisse. Portrait of Lydia Delectorskaya. 1947. State Hermitage Museum.

The "friend and helper", whom the artist adored, received from him not only a salary, but also gifts that became priceless over time - his works. After his death, Lydia lived a long life, but she could never forget Matisse. And even though she left Russia as a child, it was to her homeland that Lydia Delektorskaya presented her “Matisse” collection: not only his paintings and drawings, but also blouses and jewelry in which she posed for the master, as well as his personal belongings. On her tombstone in Pavlovsk is inscribed: "Matisse preserved her beauty for eternity."

Picasso portrait of Olga in an armchair. Pablo picasso portrait of olga khokhlova in an armchair

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