Picasso Côte d'Azur

"To mark the fortieth anniversary of Picasso's death, the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco is presenting two major exhibitions as part of the event 'Monaco Fête Picasso' : one devoted to Picasso aand the Côte d'Azur, the other to works by Picasso in the Nahmad Collection. Picasso Côte d'Azur invites the visitor to the different places where Picasso spent his summers from the early 1920s through to the immediate post-war years. Juan-les-Pins, Cap d'Antibes, Antibes, Cannes, Mougins and Monaco : the resorts the artist frequented provided an extraordinary setting for his artistic experimentation. The Mediterranean light, the sea and the shoreline were direct sources of inspiration for him, as were the region's artistic traditions, ranging from mythology to classical themes. With fellow curators Michael Raeburn and Jean-Louis Andral, Marilyn McCully commemorates this anniversary with a totally new line of approach : the influence of the Côte d'Azur on the work of this 20th-century master. A selection of drawings, watercolurs, gouaches and paintings-placed in context by rich photographic documentation-spotlights these specifically local themes and highly personal way Picasso made them his own"--Page 4 of cover.