Pondering Picasso in Barcelona

Last week I was able to frequent Barcelona for my second time, and I grew to love it even more: the rambunctious Rambla (a linguistic coincidence?), the eternally-under-construction Sagrada Familia (by this point, it must be deliberate!), the fresh fruit in La Boqueria, the helado, the port harbor and beaches, and the overall modern art deco feel.

I really love Picasso, probably because his talent is so evident in the variety of his work! Sure, he's known for his abstract (and Cubism, and printmaking...), but his earliest works done in childhood and adolescent years are stunning portrait and Impressionistic pieces. It's like he learned all the rules of conventional art very early in life, so he could "break" them and create his own new methods.

A whole section of the museum is dedicated to Picasso's abstract work based on Las Meninas by Velazquez. I had just studied and written about the Velazquez original, so it was enthralling for me to see Picasso's interpretations.

Here is the Velazquez original:

And here are some of Picasso's interpretations:

My favorite:

I just imagined Picasso frequenting the Prado for weeks and months on end, just to stare at Velazquez's masterpiece, scheming on how he would create an original of his own. It's been fun to be in all these places where great artists and inventors once trod...and are still...