When Doctor Ludwig founder of the same name museum celebrated his 70th birthday, his friends and Fritz Gruber was among them gave him the centennial portfolio prepared by Lucien Clergue with 15 silver prints that are exhibited today in the Ludwig Museum in Koln.

When he was young Doctor Ludwig did a thesis on Picasso and had since gathered the third largest collection of the artist. In this exhibition presented at the Ludwig Museum until January 15th 2012 Doctor Kerstin Stremmel wants to show that the face of Picasso is as well known as his oeuvre . He was portrayed by the most famous photographers and some of these pictures have become iconic.

Thus the exhibition MeMyselfand photo portraits of Picasso brings together prints from 250 photographers such as Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton,Henri Cartier Bresson, Lee Miller and Man Ray.

The story begins at the start of the XX Th century in the years of Parisian Bohemia and goes on to south of France with incipient celebrity. The work of the curator was not only to find and put together portraits, the exhibition also wants to show the psychological relationships and the links between the artist and the photographers, tensions for some , obvious complicity for others , a stage production here and private moments with close acquaintance .

The exhibition also show the work and personal approach of seven women photographer. The contrast between Lee Miller who photographed him for thirty six years starting summer of 1937, Madame Nora who was about his age and made the most relax pictures of the artist, diagonally opposed to those of Dora Maar.

The Exhibition also show the work of : Rogi André, Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Bill Brandt, Brassaï, René Burri, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Chim, Lucien Clergue, Jean Cocteau, Denise Colomb, Robert Doisneau, David Douglas Duncan, Yousuf Karsh, Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Herbert List, Dora Maar, Mme d’Ora, Willy Maywald, Lee Miller, Gjon Mili, Inge Morath, Arnold Newman, Roberto Otero, Irving Penn, Julia Pirotte, Edward Quinn, Man Ray, Willy Rizzo, Gotthard Schuh, Michel Sima, Horst Tappe et André Villers.

Bernard Perrine
Bernard.Perrine1@orange.fr

MemyselfandI. Portraits of Picasso
Until February 15th 2012

Museum Ludwig
Heinrich-Böll-Platz
50667 Köln
Germany
+49 221 26165
info@museum-ludwig.de
Tuesday-Sunday: 10 AM - 6 PM

MemyselfandI. Portraits of Picasso
Text Pierre Daix, Frederike Mayröcker, Katherine Slusher and Kerstin Stremmel, published by Hatje Cantz