When Picasso and Rivera met in early 1914
Picasso had heard about Rivera—and undoubtedly had seen some of his works, possibly at Berthe Weill’s space, as she was preparing an exhibition of his work—and wished to meet him. We learn more about the circumstances of this encounter from Rivera himself; it appears in many of his biographies, albeit with certain variations. However, his accounts must be taken with some reservations, as Rivera was prone to embellish his experiences and, above all, to turn them to his advantage. And in that respect, he is not alone!
This is the account he provides in his autobiography, dated in 1960: “The greatest of the cubists and my idol at the time (1914) was Pablo Picasso. I was eager to meet this already celebrated Spaniard, but my shyness prevented me from approaching him directly. Somehow, however, Picasso learned of my feelings toward him and one day he sent me a message through a mutual friend. This friend, the talented Chilean painter Ortiz de Zárate, came to my apartment early one morning. ‘Picasso sent me to tell you that if you don't go to see him, he's coming to see you.’ I accepted the invitation with pleasure and gratitude and immediately accompanied Zárate to Picasso's, together with my friends the Japanese painters Fujita and Kawashima, who were posing for a canvas I was then doing… I went to Picasso's studio intensely keyed up. My feelings were like those of a good Christian who expects to meet Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The interview was marvelous. Picasso's studio was full of his exciting canvases; grouped together they had an impact more powerful than when shown by dealers as individual masterpieces. They were like living parts of an organic world Picasso had himself created.
As for the man, will and energy blazed from his round black eyes. His black, glossy hair was cut short like the hair of a circus strong man. A luminous atmosphere seemed to surround him. My friends and I were absorbed for hours, looking at his paintings. Our interest so pleased him that he let us see his most intimate sketchbooks. Finally, Zárate and the Japanese said good-bye and left; but when I made a motion to go, Picasso asked me to stay and have lunch with him, after which he went back with me to my studio.
There he asked to see everything I had done from beginning to end… After I had shown Picasso these paintings, we had dinner together and stayed up practically the whole night talking. Our theme was cubism—what it was trying to accomplish, what it had already done, and what future it had as a ‘new’ art form.
With this meeting, Picasso and I became great friends. He brought all his own friends to visit my studio: the writers Guillaume Apollinaire and Max Jacob; the painters Georges Seurat[1], Juan Gris, and others. Picasso's enthusiasm for my work caused a sensation in Montparnasse. My contemporaries who felt kindly toward me were gratified and those who did not were surprised and outraged.”[2]
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Summary