Florence, Picasso and women in the shots of photographer Edward Quinn on display at Palazzo Medici Riccardi

A look at Pablo Picasso ( Malaga, 1881 - Mougins, 1973) and his relationship with the female world through the shots of Edward Quinn (Dublin, 1920 - Altendorf, 1997), one of the most successful photographers of the 20th century: this is the theme chosen by the city of Florence to celebrate the genius of the Spanish master and the great Irish photographer with the exhibition Picasso. The Other Half of Heaven. Photos by Edward Quinn, scheduled from Nov. 30, 2019, to March 1, 2020, at the Museo Mediceo in Palazzo Medici Riccardi.

The exhibition is produced and organized by MetaMorfosi under the patronage of the Metropolitan City of Florence, in collaboration with MUS.E. The exhibition is the result of the unusual friendship that bound Picasso to Edward Quinn, and includes a substantial series of shots taken by the photojournalist who followed Picasso to the French Riviera and portrayed him for about two decades. Some 80 photos are presented (two formats in the exhibition: 40×50 and 30×40 cm) that tell of an intimate and private Picasso, revealing, in particular, his complex relationship with the female universe: the master is portrayed among his women, lovers and friends, among his children, the fruit of many passions over the years, but also among the many friends and acquaintances who populated his canvases as well as the set tables and beaches by the sea.

The photos come from theQuinn Archive in Zurich and were selected by the exhibition’s curator, Wolfgang Frei, the photographer’s grandson. “Although Quinn,” Frei recounts further, “was a close friend, it was almost never possible to make an appointment with him in time. Picasso often gave orders not to be disturbed. Almost all visits were unplanned and improvised. This, however, was in keeping with Quinn’s way of working: in fact, his shots did not need lengthy technical preparations. He did not make use of a tripod and refused to artificially light environments and have Picasso pose. The goal was to show under what conditions the artist created his works.”

Quinn’s shots aim to return an unconventional, credible, authentic, documentary image. The photographs in the exhibition reveal how the artist was inspired by everyday things and people, but also by the extraordinary ones that surrounded him. In this depiction of the artist’s personality, the people (and women) behind the images a special focus is on the somewhat dichotomous aspects of life.

“After Sukita’s photos for Bowie that illuminate the relationship between image and musician,” says Mayor Dario Nardella, “we now open a new chapter, exploring what the discreet presence of the lens can do in the presence of an immense artist like Picasso. Two certainly different ways of interpreting art but which complement each other and somehow complete the recognition of a profile as articulate and complex as that of the master of Guernica.”

For all information you can visit the official website of Palazzo Medici Riccardi.

Source: press release

Florence, Picasso and women in the shots of photographer Edward Quinn on display at Palazzo Medici Riccardi

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