Shop millions of independent artists.   Independent.   Together.

Return to Main Discussion Page
Discussion Quote Icon

Discussion

Main Menu | Search Discussions

Search Discussions
 
 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

For Those Who Are Watching Picasso On Natgeo

I am reopening the topic for those who are watching the series, not for those who want to comment about Picasso in general.
I hope you have caught up...Picasso has met and is interacting with Matisse, Rousseau, Leo and Gertrude Stein and Braque.
Tell me how you feel about the series and its presentation.

If you are not watching, please feel free to start your own thread about Picasso, or any other topic of your choice. Thank you.

As a painter who has consistently been concerned about process, I am thrilled that this series allows me to get inside his head. I found myself shaking my head and yelling 'yes' a lot last night!!

NEXT GENIUS: MARY SHELLEY!

Reply Order

Post Reply
 

Laurie's Intuitive

5 Years Ago

I finished watching last week's episode this week. Have not seen this week's yet. My big takeaway with last week's is when art becomes an outdoing of another or a competition, it can sometimes cause frustration and creative blocks within the artist.

The joy of creating is lost and the ego takes over. It also portrays very well how some artists do not do well with pressure and commissioned work! Interesting how Gertrude played both artist's to outdo each other and it seems as though they became friends in later life through it all. :o)

I am not about labeling anyone, but it is unfortunate there was no mental health counseling back then especially for unresolved grief issues and much more.

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

I loved how Gertrude played one against each other...but not maliciously...she knew each was great in his own right!
The angst Picasso went through to create his career changing portrait of her, was ripping my heart apart....

 

Laurie's Intuitive

5 Years Ago

Gertrude's grins said it all. She knew exactly what she was doing! And the hat she wore for the first sitting!! LOL
I like Gertrude. She was quite the character! I think she had what great art teachers possess...to push you beyond and then some....

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

Great hat, yes....and on the heels of the Royal wedding and the Kentucky Derby!
Nobody had nuthin' on her!
You're gonna LOVE the latest installment, Laurie!

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

They've picked the next genius...Mary Shelley!! That's going to be an exciting series! I love Frankie!!

 

Patricia Strand

5 Years Ago

That is excellent news, Marlene! Mary Shelley comingled with that group of romantic poets who I love, and whose stories will likely be part of this series. So glad they are doing a woman, too. I will be seeing Picasso's newest installment tonight. Can't wait!

 

Laurie's Intuitive

5 Years Ago

I'm also so happy they are including a woman and I'm sure they will depict her political radicalness very well along with the many losses she faced throughout her short lived life. This ought to be fascinating!

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

I'm so impressed that they find talented actors to play real people and look so much like the people they are portraying! I need to find a pic of Mary Shelley and start a pool of who's got the role...I bet they are already filming!
::::looking up images:::::

OMG, i know who SHOULD play the role...perfect match! Look up her picture and weigh in, ladies.


Just found an article that is guessing Samantha Colley should be considered.....I think after two seasons, they need to look elsewhere.

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

Here is Nat Geo’s kickass bio on Shelley:

A brilliant thinker, radical intellectual and proto-feminist, Mary Shelley (1797-1851) brought to life one of the most enduring stories of the modern age while still a teenager. “Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus” is a cautionary tale of unchecked scientific ambition and a sophisticated meditation on social institutions, personal freedom and compassion that has captured imaginations and continues to be relevant since it was first published 200 years ago. Shelley masterfully invented the Science Fiction/Horror genre with her tale of a creature brought to life, subsequently going on to create the Post-Apocalyptic genre with her later novel, “The Last Man.”

An intellectual prodigy who was inspired from an early age by the writing of her unconventional mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley was determined to prove that women were the intellectual and creative equals of men. One of few women to support herself as an author during the early 18th century, Shelley wrote short stories, reviews, travelogues, and made prolific contributions to the world’s first encyclopedia, she also wrote six novels. Shelley’s inner circle included countless literary and scientific luminaries of the day, including Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary and Charles Lamb, Humphry Davy and Leigh Hunt.

 

Laurie's Intuitive

5 Years Ago

Elle Fanning is playing her!!! You can see the trailer on tor.com
OMG it looks amazing!!!!!!!

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

That's the movie coming out tomorrow, Laurie. I may still have to see this one, though!

Genius hasn't casted as yet:
http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/frankenstein-mary-shelley-genius-season-3-1202758108/

 

Laurie's Intuitive

5 Years Ago

Oh, I didn't realize there would be a movie and Genius!! Great! I will have to see both!!!

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

I'm kinda really excited about the movie with Elle Fanning!

 

Patricia Strand

5 Years Ago

Okay, Marlene, I looked up Mary Shelley's picture and she changes so much from girlhood to adulthood. I'm not coming up with any likely candidates to play her. I have a feeling when you reveal who you think resembles her, I'll probably bang my head and go "yeah!" Just don't let it be MS, who I cannot stand. Lol.

 

Laurie's Intuitive

5 Years Ago

One of her pics reminded me of Glenn Close

 

Jon Glaser

5 Years Ago

i cant believe he was such an arrogant jerk,,no regards for his ex girlfriends etc..ANd I would never sleep in a room with scorpions..thats just crazy..
Oh and fix that tooth!!!

I am enjoying it alot,,interesting to learn about him.although some it maybe fictional...

 

Patricia Strand

5 Years Ago

Jon, I didn't know much about Picasso as a person, and after watching this, I am finding him very hard to like. His art and his process are fascinating, however. It's a good show.

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

Pat! lol, I was going to say Meryl Streep but then Honey suggested Glenn Close....

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

From what I have read, the series stays as true as possible, given there's only 10 hours available for each genius to try to explain WHY they are considered geniuses.
Idon't think 'liking' them much matters....there was a greater message to convey.

 

Laurie's Intuitive

5 Years Ago

Just saw last weeks Picasso episode last evening. Loving Gertrude and wow, did she tell him!!!! Also loved his reaction to his first plane ride!! wow

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

I'm a week behind.....been with my granddaughter and will catch up in a week or two.
I will hate to see it end...as with last year!

 

Laurie's Intuitive

5 Years Ago

I will also hate to see it end! I did not realize they filmed on location where he was born and in the actual places he lived. So interesting.

 

Edward Fielding

5 Years Ago

I sold a Picasso today at our yard sale. Granted it was a framed reprint from Ikea but the customer mentioned the NatGeo show. Had I thought of the popularity of the show, I probably should have raised the price.

 

Laurie's Intuitive

5 Years Ago

Ed, I have 2 prints by Picasso "Dove of Peace'' and "Bouquet of Peace'' I can't part with them. The show is really done well and worth watching.

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

My cousin was gifted every year of his marriage an original piece of art by his wife's aunt, who was an art dealer in NYC. They never cared for any of it and always put the work under their bed. It became a family joke, though I had never seen any of it.
I finally went through the 'under the bed art' after his wife passed away when I was helping him decorate his new home.
We found a Picasso etching....THAT one got framed and hung!! The rest were rather dark but valuable enough to put his daughter through law school.

 

Alan Armstrong

5 Years Ago

Yes Marlene you have inspired another signature from who els.

Photography Prints

As I am missing out on the TV version of Picasso, State Side, I am however still near enough to see what he made up close.

 

Roger Swezey

5 Years Ago

I've been watching the program every week.

Maybe, not attentive enough, because I can't keep track of all the women in his life.

I would like to see more of his decision making as he is creating his art.

 

Alan Armstrong

5 Years Ago

Another noteworthy Spanish artist.

Diego Velázquez (6 June 1599 – August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV.

Happy birthday Diego!

 

Alan Armstrong

5 Years Ago

Found the Picasso Nat Geo all in Spanish, will get back to you on it En El futuro.

Finding Piccasso's signature on a wine barrel was a lucky find, but more interesting was in that very same evening I just happened to meet the actress Emily Mortimer in a restaurant near by.

 

Patricia Strand

5 Years Ago

I really like Velázquez, too. His painting Las Meninas is fascinating!

I'm due to watch the latest Picasso installment tonight. I think it gets better with each episode!

 

Alan Armstrong

5 Years Ago

Hi Patricia, there are Las Meninas sculptures all over central Madrid at this moment.

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

Next week is the last installment :(

 

Alan Armstrong

5 Years Ago

You will survive, Picasso.

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

I was 3 episodes behind and have caught up on 2....2 left...I hate to see it end.
So much conflict in his life......sigh

 

Laurie's Intuitive

5 Years Ago

While it is a great portrayal of his life...all the conflict, I was hoping to see more of his creative process...but how could they replicate that???

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

I just read that Antonio spent considerable time with brushes and paint on canvas, trying to get a feel for the process and materials...impressive!

Last year, with Einstein, they superimposed very cool images to represent his thought process....would have loved to have seen that with an artist!

 

Jim Whalen

5 Years Ago

I've been fascinated by Picasso and his art since a very young child and am enjoying the portrayal very much. I read Patrick O'Brian's biography of him last year. The Nat Geo production is very similar to O'Brian's bio, although it is not as in depth as the book, seeing a portrayal of how he treated the women in his life is more shocking than reading about it.

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

most definitely...and I'm sure they left a whole lot of women out!
He did have many willing partners in crime, though...The guy was married for a very long time and yet had mistresses with his children fighting over him while his wife and first child were parked somewhere else.

 

Karyn Robinson

5 Years Ago

I've loved every minute of this series. It's so well done. I'm fascinated by how the story bounces back and forth in time. That's some talented story-telling!

What has struck me the most as far as his art goes, is how many different styles Picasso painted in.

I always thought it was essential for an artist to develop a recognizable style, and of course he created some works that are uniquely his own and are instantly recognized. However, he was so prolific and had such a long career that naturally his work would evolve and change.

There is a series of videos on YouTube called, 'Learn from the Masters' and this morning I watched the Picasso one. Good stuff.

 

Jon Glaser

5 Years Ago

I have enjoyed the series very much,,cant keep track of the girl friends and mistresses though...Whats up with missing a tooth when he was younger and when did he get it fixed? who was his dentist? how did he lose it? was it a fight? Did he have good hygiene? He sure did smoke alot and one of his girlfriends died of cancer.. I guess there was no link between smoking and lung cancer at the time.....

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

His career spanned so many generations, living into his 90's and being a child progidy.
He was the first 20th century artist who made gobs of money and by 35, his art was commanding the most money of any of his contemporaries.
The world was changing, his work was seen all over the world....all good things contributing to an artist's success.


Have no clue how he lost his tooth but I'd bet a whole lotta people in those days had them pulled and lived with gaps.

 

Lisa Kaiser

5 Years Ago

I am enjoying the series as well. I also cannot keep up with the women and they don't interest me much.

I like how they show his passion for life, his joys although most around him wanted more control over his actions, and also how he put his art first. They bounce around different times in his life, which I love.


One of my favorite parts was how he threatened the Nazi officer...I thought that was great.


His women and one son perhaps seem to have wanted control over him and I'm glad he didn't give in to it even as an elderly Picasso, he had his own agenda or so it appears.

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

SO glad your gave this series another chance, Lisa!

 

Jon Glaser

5 Years Ago

Marlene,,thats probably true,,especially in Europe those days...even still today ,,even here,,some people think a took is just like a finger,,well not even as bad as loosing a finger..

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

Last chapter is tomorrow night. Please check in by June 21, before this thread closes.

I'm caught up, finally and personally, getting confused with all the jumping back and forth and women...I can only imagine how Picasso felt.
BTW, he was a lousy liar.

My other problem is with the chasm between the two main actors portraying Picasso...I needed an easier transition in looks...

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

What an ending! OH MY!!!!
Please weigh in tomorrow before I close up shop here ;)

 

Laurie's Intuitive

5 Years Ago

Hopefully I will have some time to watch it tomorrow evening..I'm behind...OH MY!!!! now I can't wait!!!

 

Patricia Strand

5 Years Ago

Trying to catch up! My cable was out for five days, and I lost all my recordings. Just finished episode 9 on onDemand.

I would really like to see more about his art and less about the women, because that part is getting tedious. But I guess he's a packaged deal. I looked up his paintings and was surprised to see so many of Marie Therese!

 

Jon Glaser

5 Years Ago

Loved it, last girlfriend made you forget how much of a womanizer he was. Was it about 8 girlfriends? Remember one died? was she in the last seen?

 

Ken Krug

5 Years Ago

Enjoyed the series, I have only the last episode to watch. What strikes me is how different in personality the older Picasso is to the younger portrayal, the younger seeming for the most part, more compassionate, poetic and sensitive to others... the older version, not so much. Probably done purposely, and though people change, I wonder if in real life the younger would have been a little more like the older Picasso.

His looks in the series, the younger vs. the older, there is a difference but it doesn't bother me too much. I can't help but notice however, ironically, the resemblance of Antonio Banderas in Picasso guise to Hitler. A resemblance there, again ironically, actually closer than to Picasso. He could play the part. Enough so it makes me wonder how the producers could not have noticed it. Sorry for any eye worms that may have created.

 

Jim Whalen

5 Years Ago

It's been a great series.Haven't watched the last episode yet. I will watch it tonight. I may not get a chance to share my thoughts about it before you close this discussion because I am travelling VERY early in the morning. I agree with Ken, about the differences in the way the young and old Picasso's are portrayed.

 

Chuck Staley

5 Years Ago

I would not swap places with that man for anything. What a screwed up life!

As I watched last night, I couldn't wait for it to get over with.

And I guess Picasso had a raspy voice, but that bothered me throughout the whole series. Especially the young Picasso.

And, as most everyone mentioned, the jumping about through time periods.... who remembers which date was on the screen previously?

I'm glad it's over. But can't wait for the next one.

 

Patricia Strand

5 Years Ago

I'm not really having any problems with the jumping around in time. But I do dislike Antonio's whispering. Maybe that's how he really talks, but it's bugging me.

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

Interestingly enough, the actor who played young Picasso looks eerily like Antonio Banderas looked when he was that age!

Womanizing or not, the true love of his life was his art....'til the very end...and that last wife knew it!
I adored Francoise...she had the courage to move on.
His women got stronger as he got more difficult.

The Hitler similarity was purely the oh so bad comb over that Picasso did wear.

 

Ken Krug

5 Years Ago

Gertrude Stein I thought would have been played sterner in character. She was portrayed not as I would have imagined.

 

Ken Krug

5 Years Ago

Then again, her name was Stein, not Stern.

 

Marlene Burns

5 Years Ago

And that’s a wrap!
Glad that some of you enjoyed this series!

 

This discussion is closed.