Did Picasso say this?
October 28, 2024 10:48 AM Subscribe
Is there evidence that Picasso ever actually said or wrote 'If there were only one truth, you couldn't paint a hundred canvases on the same theme' (in Spanish, I presume)? My searches so far have mostly just turned up those awful quote sites. If it's not documented, do you know of any sayings with a similar sentiment that are?
Best answer: I can find three citations:
Pablo Picasso and Dore Ashton, Picasso on Art: A Selection of Views (1972) p. 22, which appears to cite back to Parmelin, below:
Hélène Parmelin, Picasso: the artist and his model, and other recent works (1965) p. 87
Hélène Parmelin, Picasso dit (1966), which was translated into English in 1969 as Picasso says
posted by jedicus at 11:18 AM on October 28 [1 favorite]
Pablo Picasso and Dore Ashton, Picasso on Art: A Selection of Views (1972) p. 22, which appears to cite back to Parmelin, below:
Hélène Parmelin, Picasso: the artist and his model, and other recent works (1965) p. 87
Hélène Parmelin, Picasso dit (1966), which was translated into English in 1969 as Picasso says
posted by jedicus at 11:18 AM on October 28 [1 favorite]
Interestingly, the first time I find it, is here. 1987 Does this mean this quote came from a part time art critic in Arizona?
posted by beccaj at 2:17 PM on October 28
posted by beccaj at 2:17 PM on October 28
Best answer: For what it's worth, the French version of the quote given in Parmelin 1966 cited above is "Sil y avait une seule vérité, on ne pourrait pas faire cent toiles sur le méme théme."
A few pages earlier, there is this longer quote about truth that expands on the theme:
« Quelle vérité ? dit Picasso. La vérité ne peut pas exister. Si je cherche la vérité dans ma toile, je peux faire cent toiles avec cette vérité. Alors laquelle est la vraie ? Et qui est la vérité ? Celle qui me sert de modéle, ou celle que je peins ? Non, c'est comme dans tout le reste. La vérité n’existe pas. » « Je me rappelle, dit Paulo Picasso, que quand j’étais tout petit, je t’entendais tout le temps dire : « La vérité est un mensonge... »
It is given as this in the English translation of the book (Picasso Says, 1969):
“What truth?’ says Picasso. ‘Truth cannot exist. If I look for truth in my canvas, I can do a hundred canvases with this truth. Which, then, is the true one? And who is truth? The one who serves as my model or the one I paint? No, it’s like everything else. Truth does not exist.’ ‘I remember’, says Paulo Picasso, ‘that when I was very on I always used to hear you say: “Truth is a lie. . .”
posted by Mo Nickels at 4:39 PM on October 28 [4 favorites]
A few pages earlier, there is this longer quote about truth that expands on the theme:
« Quelle vérité ? dit Picasso. La vérité ne peut pas exister. Si je cherche la vérité dans ma toile, je peux faire cent toiles avec cette vérité. Alors laquelle est la vraie ? Et qui est la vérité ? Celle qui me sert de modéle, ou celle que je peins ? Non, c'est comme dans tout le reste. La vérité n’existe pas. » « Je me rappelle, dit Paulo Picasso, que quand j’étais tout petit, je t’entendais tout le temps dire : « La vérité est un mensonge... »
It is given as this in the English translation of the book (Picasso Says, 1969):
“What truth?’ says Picasso. ‘Truth cannot exist. If I look for truth in my canvas, I can do a hundred canvases with this truth. Which, then, is the true one? And who is truth? The one who serves as my model or the one I paint? No, it’s like everything else. Truth does not exist.’ ‘I remember’, says Paulo Picasso, ‘that when I was very on I always used to hear you say: “Truth is a lie. . .”
posted by Mo Nickels at 4:39 PM on October 28 [4 favorites]
> Interestingly, the first time I find it, is here. 1987
I can't find the remainder of that article (which might list sources) but by all appearances, the article contains actual quotations from Picasso, perhaps from various sources, arranged like an interview.
It's clearly meant to be a compilation of real quotations, not just a bunch of made-up hoo-haw.
posted by flug at 7:29 PM on October 28 [1 favorite]
I can't find the remainder of that article (which might list sources) but by all appearances, the article contains actual quotations from Picasso, perhaps from various sources, arranged like an interview.
It's clearly meant to be a compilation of real quotations, not just a bunch of made-up hoo-haw.
posted by flug at 7:29 PM on October 28 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks jedicus and Mo Nickels! That's just what I was looking for.
posted by atlantica at 1:55 AM on October 29
posted by atlantica at 1:55 AM on October 29
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posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 11:12 AM on October 28