Guest Speakers

Paris, 6 February 1934: Drawing Fascism

Neil Cox

Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art, University of Edinburgh
10.10.18 | 10:45 – 11:30

On the day of Fascist riots in Paris on 6 February 1934, Picasso made drawings of a reclining nude woman, an assemblage in an interior. He continued with the motif over the next few days, including the date of the left-wing counter demonstration. Given his surrealist connections, the artist was surely aware of the political significance of events on his doorstep. Is there any plausible case for seeing these drawings as expressions of political consciousness? Through close examination, considering other parallels in Picasso’s oeuvre where drawing seems at odds with political urgencies, I shall consider the drawings as transfigured politics.