Picasso’s Suite Vollard on display at Manila Met

One hundred prints of copper etchings created by world renowned artist Pablo Picasso were unveiled at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila on Wednesday before an audience of Filipino art connoisseurs that included National Artists Abdul Imao and Napoleon Abueva. The collection, known in art history as Suite Vollard, will be on public display starting Thursday, November 10, 2011, up to January 7, 2012. The set of prints appears in two formats — large ones (760 x 500 millimeters) on vellum paper and a smaller version (445 x 340 mm) on Montval paper. The Suite Vollard collection on display at the Met is owned by the Fundacion MAPFRE. Unexpected but welcome Met vice chair Corazon Alvina revealed that bringing in Suite Vollard was an accident of sorts—the Fundacion Santiago, a long-time partner of the Met, had promised to bring in a different collection, but logistical problems had caused a delay. It was then that the group offered to bring in Suite Vollard as a “replacement." “It was fortunate that they told me this over the phone, so they couldn’t see that I was jumping up and down," Alvina told a news conference before the opening of the exhibit. During the exhibit opening, Fundacion Santiago President Pedro Roxas said it was their hope that the exhibit would not only bring Picasso’s work closer to the Filipino people, but that it would also “excite and enliven" the Filipino’s understanding of how art can transcend time and borders. The collection, noted curator Leyre Bozal, is one of the Fundacion MAPFRE’s gems. Suite Vollard is named after Ambroise Vollard, an influential Parisian art dealer in the early 1900s who commissioned the collection. "The complete series includes three portraits of Ambroise Vollard, five plates referred to as the Battle of Love, or Rape, created in 1933; forty-six plates from The Sculptor’s Studio (forty etchings from March 20 to May 5, 1933, and six between January and March 1934); four plates of Rembrandt (created July 27-31, 1934); fifteen plates of The Blind Minotaur, created from May 17-June 18, and September 22-October 22, 1933; and twenty-seven varied compositions," according to a news release from the Met.

Alvina exhorted Filipinos to see the rare collection, saying “Just the experience of being in the presence of the works of one of the greatest artists of all time and the sheer enjoyment is enough." The exhibit can also serve as an eye-opener for those who are already into art, said Alvina. “There's also a misconception that artists who go into non-figurative or abstractions cannot draw. I think that [Suite Vollard] will show them that draftsmanship is also very important in art production," she added. Art for all The collection’s run in Manila will also be the last for some time. After January 7, the collection will be brought back to Spain and will be “rested" for nearly three years to give the prints time to “breathe," said Bozal. Since the group first acquired the collection in 2008, Fundacion MAPFRE’s Suite Vollard has been displayed in Puerto Rico, Turkey, and New Delhi. Bozal said the owners have yet to decide where to bring the collection after its mandatory “rest" period. - YA, GMA News The Metropolitan Museum of Manila is located at the back of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas along Roxas boulevard. It is open from 9 am to 6 pm, Monday to Saturday except first Mondays of the month and holidays. Museum entrance fee is P100, which includes access to the Suite Vollard exhibit. For more information, call 523-0613 or visit www.metmuseum.ph.