There are artists whose creativity, imagination and ability to produce works seem boundless, and I love to savour that, because those works always have something to teach me and I always learn from them.

When I visited the entire Picasso Museum a while ago, I thought no other works could surprise me, but as I was leaving the museum, I saw a poster for the new exhibition. What I hadn’t imagined was that it would be so extensive and feature such a diverse range of styles from the same artist.

I was then able to see different facets of Picasso’s life at various stages, and whilst abstract art isn’t my favourite, this artist has developed far beyond that, creating truly impressive Works, particularly sculptures of faces and parts of the human body, which are so difficult to achieve. But even the abstract works and in fact many of them, I loved. The words that spring to mind are versatility, creativity and innovation.

As I always mention, in the city’s largest and most important museums, there is information not only about the exhibition itself and in general, but also about each specific artwork. I must highlight the elegance with which this exhibition was presented; all the walls were painted black or very dark grey, with lighting, though in many cases subdued, I suppose to preserve the Works, but that elegance was evident in every detail, even in the display cases showcasing the artist’s drawings.

This is a phrase that was on one of the walls before entering the main hall, or rather, the main hall and its annexes. I loved this phrase.

The exhibition was titled ‘Memory and Desire’, exploring the relationship between images and the evolution of modern man across different historical periods, all set against a backdrop of profound social and cultural transformation, an era in which social equality was emerging and mindsets were undergoing a liberating shift. And so modern art, which had been censored by authoritarian regimes, began to flourish.

All these works relate to those changes and to emerging new movements such as Surrealism, the focus on the inner self, different cultures, and ancient beliefs that were to be redefined; this gave rise to a dialogue between continuity and the change that was already taking place. For all these reasons, the starting point for this exhibition is a work entitled Study with Plaster Head, created in 1925, which depicts his father and the dissolution of the fine arts system.

Details in this work,such as the split faces and the shadow,became recurring motifs in his art, representing multiple temporalities, the fragmented subject and aspects of personality. His works bring together sensuality, the earthly and the monstrous, giving rise to what he considered desire as the source of the imagination; and Picasso truly did have a vivid imagination,that is something I admire.

Many artists explored these themes of memory and desire, in diverse ways and from different perspectives, but all led to self-representation within the subject’s identity.

The exhibition features not only works by Picasso, but also by many other artists such as Salvador Dalí, Jean Metzinger, Man Ray, Felice Casorati, Serge Lido, as well as photographs by Jean Cocteau, René Magritte, Juan Gris, Federico García Lorca, Joaquín Peinado, Benjamín Palencia, José Moreno Villa, Enrique Climent, Gregorio Prieto and many more, particularly in other areas of art such as drawing and sculpture. In some cases, the artist’s identity was even unknown.

Therefore, it was not just an exhibition of works by Picasso, although the majority of the works were by him, but there were many others, artists I was not familiar with, who marked a moment in history by following many of Picasso’s artistic principles. I really liked many of those works. Very original abstract and surrealist art.

Each painting had its own distinctive character; some were very colourful, others in soft tones, and others even in sepia tones. Furthermore, the sculptures, such as faces, hands, arms, and even depictions of different parts of the human body, were perfect and truly admirable.

I was struck by many things at this exhibition; one was the number of security staff present and the constant surveillance, as there were people getting very close to the artworks, some paintings even had a barrier set up quite a distance away, and, on the other hand, the constant stream of people entering the gallery. The museum lets in a certain number of people at a time, as others leave, and it was truly astonishing to see the number of tourists from all over the world, from various countries, who were visiting.

As I mentioned, the quality of the exhibition, its elegance and how well it was organised are truly worth mentioning. To be able to take photographs of the entire art exhibition, I had to visit the museum on two separate days, as the huge number of people queuing meant I only managed to get in very close to closing time on the first day.

Of course, if you have a favourite piece from among all those you’ve seen, I’d love to hear about it. Personally, I liked so many that I couldn’t possibly mention them all; some are by Picasso, but many are by other artists. I took my time going round, appreciating this high quality art, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Thank you very much for joining me today; warm regards to you all. See you soon.
Amonet.