CAPE TOWN.- The Iziko South African National Gallery, drawing an unprecedented crowd of more than 50 000 visitors. The curators of the exhibition, Laurence Madeline and Marilyn Martin, explored Picasso’s response and debt to African sculpture through 61 paintings, drawings and sculptures, in four periods of redirection: his advance to a new form of art through Paul Gauguin and ancient Iberian sculpture; the development of his full-blown African period from the summer of 1907 to the summer of 1908; the African links to Cubism, in both its Analytical and Synthetic phases; new directions from the 1930s, when Picasso worked within the ambit of Surrealism. The works were displayed in the presence of relevant African sculptures from South African collections.

In addition there were a selection of 21 works, including three from South African collections and three from the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. A biographical room provided fascinating insights into Picasso’s life and work. A prestigious book is available in the Gallery Shop, as well as a curriculum-based educational resource for teachers and learners.