“Youth has no Age”

Pablo Picasso 1881-1973

Picasso is such a vast subject that is daunting to say anything at all…I am always foremost touched by his playfulness and humor, despite the forcefulness of everything he did. Picasso’s monumental legacy is hard to grasp, perhaps he was a “Monstre Sacré” in many ways, but I see that as an achievement…His long life spanned most of the 20th century and he recorded it in his art.

“A day without laughter is a wasted day”. This motto shows in so many photographs of Picasso in his daily life. Sitting at the breakfast table, seeing art and wit in everyday objects:

Photograph by Robert Doisneau – home baked croissants as hands…

Or Playing

Cowboys

and Indians

or impersonating “Popeye the Sailor”

I love the “mess” in the room, or “bordel” as the French say, stuff everywhere and the way he poses, so “bien dans sa peau” (comfortable in his own skin), I am charmed and touched by these photographs. The other thing I love about photos of Picasso is his style: this man was immensely wealthy, yet he dresses very simply and with an ageless and timeless look: the striped sailor top, the espadrille, the tweed suit…I will write more about that in a later post.

But my favorite photograph of Picasso shows him carrying a huge parasol to protect his lover Francoise Gilot on the beach, look at his mischievous smile and her joyful and natural poise…

Photograph by Robert Capa 1951

No wonder this image was the big inspiration for the American fashion designer Tory Burch’s Summer 2015 collection. Check out this collection, it is everything I love. I promise more about Tory Burch in a later post.