Intimate Picasso Letter Goes on Display in France

A letter that Pablo Picasso wrote to his friend, the French poet Max Jacob has gone on display in the French city of Quimper, Art Daily reports. The rare letter is one of about ten letters between Picasso and Jacob that have been found.

The iconic artist addresses the poet as ‘my dear Max’ at the start of the intimate letter, which dates from 1903, and refers to himself as ‘your brother Picasso’ in the closing. The previously unknown document, which comes from a private collection, was written by Picasso during a stint in Barcelona, and in it he writes explicitly about his desire to return to Paris: “If I can work here, I’ll stay here, but if I can’t do anything here, I’ll bugger off back to Paris.”

Accompanying the text is a series of sketches which bear a resemblance to works from Picasso’s “blue period”, which dominated his output around that time. The drawings depict a woman comforting a seated man, an outstretched hand, a child kneeling next to a man, and a couple deep in conversation.

The letter is being displayed at the Quimper Museum of Fine Art until September 21, as part of an exhibition that commemorates the 70th anniversary of Max Jacob’s death.