Olga Picasso: The First Wife's Story Told at Musée Picasso Paris

The Musée Picasso in Paris is hosting an exhibition titled "Olga Picasso" that explores the relationship between Pablo Picasso and his first wife, Olga Khokhlova. Born in 1891 in Ukraine, Khokhlova was a dancer with the Ballets Russes of Diaghilev. Picasso met her in Rome in 1917 through Jean Cocteau. They married in an Orthodox ceremony in 1918, with Cocteau and Guillaume Apollinaire as witnesses. The exhibition spans two floors and 760 square meters, featuring photographs, drawings, paintings, and archival materials. It traces their relationship from its romantic beginnings to its deterioration. Early portraits depict Olga as beautiful and melancholic, reminiscent of Ingres. After the birth of their son Paul in 1921, she appears in numerous maternity scenes. However, when Picasso began a relationship with the 17-year-old Marie-Thérèse Walter, Olga's image changed; in the 1929 painting "Grand Nude," she is portrayed as tired and overweight. In 1935, Picasso met Dora Maar, and that same year, his daughter Maya was born from his relationship with Walter. Picasso and Olga separated in 1935, though they remained married until Olga's death in 1955. The exhibition runs until September 2, 2017, at the Musée Picasso, 5 rue de Thorigny, Paris.