Picasso a Palazzo Te

Picasso’s little-known Ovid illustrations amid the splendor of a Mannerist palazzo

A painter, draftsman and sculptor, but also a photographer, engraver, set designer and ceramist, Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) excelled in every genre. He was one of the most prolific and polymorphic artists, and a poet who was passionate about Greek and Latin literature. Throughout his career, he illustrated countless books by poets such as Apollinaire, Jacob and Reverdy. In 1930 he illustrated the Metamorphoses by Ovid, a series of engravings that, with the great frescoes by painter and architect Giulio Romano (1499–1546), is the perfect echo of Romano’s Palazzo Te, a palace in the suburbs of Mantua, Italy, itself a magnificent example of the Mannerist style of architecture. The superb catalog Picasso a Palazzo Te: Poetry and Salvation displays the close relationship that links the artistic practice of Picasso and poetry, revealing a little-known aspect of his work.