Literature

Completed in 1966, Vénus Foraine (Venus of the fairground) brings to us a rich, light-hearted composition. Using a combination of aquatint and drypoint, a dozen textures are all patchworked together to create the setting’s atmosphere. The hatch marks are so thick and layered it makes it difficult to discern certain details of where we are, allowing the imagination to expand. All done with a ferocity suggesting the determination to manifest the image. It is as though Picasso woke from a dream and translates to the surface what resonated in his fleeting impression before it dissolved into the business of the waking world. 

The subjects do indeed feel as though they are from another world. The title is with an air of humor; demoting the holiness of Venus to a performer - or opposingly, perhaps making the performer themselves sacred. The lead lady is larger than life, and her surrounding space occupies nearly half the image as she presents a glowing star. The musicians play as light radiates off of her, and another woman, perched on the rear of the donkey extends her hand, intrigued by the gift from beyond. The scene becomes lyric as all the performers appear nude, immediately setting them apart from society and connecting them with illustrations of classical myth. This playful conversation anchored with the cupid figure front and center, sporting a quirky smile as he raises his bow and arrow for us to see. 

All the cast of characters are executed with a swirling indecisive line, bending proportion and space. Translating to the eye a sense of motion, it is as though we captured the climax of a larger performance. All except our humble donkey just off center of the plate. The cross hatching and texture of its bust emerges from the cluster of the scene and sets it apart from the others. It is more considered and refined, reminiscent of Rembrandt’s print works which Picasso revered. Threading back to its biblical connotation, carrying Christ into Jerusalem; investing special attention in this modest character makes a testament to the scene’s innocence or naivety. 

We are reminded of the Rose Period works Picasso did some thirty years prior, which had a great focus on street performers. After three decades of experience, we can still see the artist's classical foundation bubble to the surface, however he’s broken free from the more rigid expectations of illustrating human form. He takes great latitude with his handle on mark making; moving across the surface with a fluidity and confidence. He displays the wisdom of restraint, knowing when there is enough information to translate to the eye, and investing deeper where he wants the viewer to pause and sink in for a moment.

Vénus Foraine is a visual bonanza of technique and character. Picasso here is at a stage in his life now where he has total trust in his impulses, instincts and conscious decision making. At eighty-five years old, he is not looking over his shoulder at his peers, he is well seasoned and pulls intuitively from his massive visual vocabulary. The artist brings us a work that is informed, dynamic, and rewards the eye with a curious jubilance reminiscent of the foggy, joyful daydreams of youth.