Collages by Picasso

Pablo Picasso invented collage as an artistic technique around the spring of 1912. But long before this, in Barcelona in March 1899, he made a drawing in which he glued a technically reproduced image: the portrait of an actress. We now know that this piece is a picture card from a matchbox, which were very popular in the late nineteenth century.

Now, the Museo Picasso (Barcelona, Spain) hosts an exhibition that explores the new visuality of this period in which drawings and photographs vied for position in the popular illustrated papers and magazines, the boom in the mass production of printed images, which inundated everyday life, and the vogue for collecting them that seized a large part of the population.

The drawing titled Man Leaning Against a Wall is part of a series of life studies drawn by Picasso at the Círculo Artístico de Barcelona in February and March 1899. This time was a crossroads in the young artist's life. He decided, against his father's wishes, to drop out of art school and pursue a career as an independent painter.

The scrap of paper glued to the lower right-hand corner of the drawing is a matchbox picture-card from a series about performing artists: a popular image of the time. The subject of the photograph is the French actress Angeline Cavelle.

Date: until 3 June.
Location: Museo Picasso. Montcada 15-23. 08003. Barcelona.
Hours: from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 20pm.