Philatelic Musings on Art: Picasso's Painting “The Actor” Damaged In NYC
Guest post by Mark Haimann, MD
Well, if you are going to fall into a painting, make sure it is an important one, be certain to just hit the edge, and do it in a prominent museum.
This might explain the accidental injury to a well known Picasso at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City last Friday. An elderly visitor accidentally fell into “The Actor”, a hauntingly beautiful painting by the most famous, and arguably the most talented, painter of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso. I'm not sure what excuse this visitor had for this accident. At least when Mr. Steve Wynn struck one of his Picasso paintings a few years ago, we all understood since he has retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive retinal disease that has left him with extreme tunnel vision (He accidentally thrust his hand through his painting while gesticulating about it to a friend).
Read more about last Friday's incident
“The Actor” (1904) is from the artist's so called “Rose Period”. A few years earlier (1901) Picasso lost one of his closest friends to suicide and thereafter his style became quite sad and melancholy...his so called “Blue Period”. The color blue predominated in his work of this time, and the paintings also show his move from a classical style to a more modern theme.
Around 1904 Picasso's art became less melancholy and his palette brightened quite a bit, thus the term "Rose Period". The damaged painting, “The Actor” is a wonderful example of this period. I am unable to find it reproduced on any stamp, but there is a typical Rose Period piece on a stamp from the Maldives, “Two Harlequins”, 1904.
Picasso often used circus figures or actors as his subjects. It is thought that he felt a certain kinship with these performers and the struggle they had in order to make a living (much as he did at that time).
The Rose Period lasted until about 1906 when the artists work became heavily influenced by the primitive art of Africa. It was during this latter period that Picasso shocked the art world with his painting “Les Demoiselle d'Avignon”.
It is located across town from the Met, in the Museum of Modern Art. And I'll wager they are constructing a “no-walk zone” in front of this masterpiece as we speak!
Mark Haimann's first Philatelic Musings on Art post »
About the Author
“Hi Everyone: My name is Mark Haimann and I am a lifelong philatelist and art collector. This past October I presented a public program about American artist Alexander Calder and his connections to philately at the National Postal Museum. Following the talk, I was asked if I wanted to blog for the museum about the art world and its connections to philately. How could I say no, so therefore I'm excited to present this first blog post in a continuing series entitled Philatelic Musings On Art.”
