Baule and Kafir Jewels. Dialogues with Picasso

Displayed to coincide with the exhibition Picasso and artist’s jewellery at the Museu Picasso, the exhibition “Baule and Kafir Jewels. Dialogues with Picasso” presents a selection of jewellery from the Baule culture in West Africa and a small number of Afgan jewellery pieces from the Kafir culture, from the collections held by the Museum of Ethnology and World Cultures. While maintaining their own meanings and standing as pieces in their own right, the selected jewellery items engage in a dialogue with Picasso.

The exhibition, which is split into the “A Fascination with Africa” and “Vernacular Primitivism” areas, revolves around the two sets of jewellery, which can be examined as self-standing sets with their own particular characteristics. What are these items? What are they made of? Who wears them? In what contexts are they used and displayed? What is their meaning? What cultural “traces” can be identified in their shapes?

And all this is done through a connection to Picasso by means of a thread that is subtly evocative of the omnipresence of what has been referred to as “primitivism” in 20th century European avantgarde artists, particularly surrealist artists, and still determines how we look at them today. This “primitivism” takes various forms and has various origins in Picasso’s work. Just like in Romanesque art, Picasso found an alternative kind of art in African and Iberian sculpture and, above all, a set of strictly formal resources that allowed him to break with naturalistic depictions and revitalise modern European art.

“Picasso and artist’s jewellery” exhibition at the Picasso Museum

GET A 50% DISCOUNT WHEN YOU VISIT THE MONTCADA AND PARC MONTJUÏC VENUES OF THE MUSEU ETNOLÒGIC I DE CULTURES DEL MÓN

Have you visited the exhibition “Picasso and artists’ jewels” at the Museu Picasso, and has it left you wanting more?

The Museu Etnològic i de Cultures del Món invites you to enjoy our showcase exhibition “Baule and Kafir jewels. Dialogues with Picasso” free of charge.

And what's more, when you present your ticket for the “Picasso and artist's jewels” exhibition, you’ll get 50% off the price of the general admission to either of the Museu Etnològic i de Cultures del Món centres(Montcada venue and Parc Montjuïc venue).