In Shades of Gray

By Pablo Picasso.

Although the excellent exhibit at the MFAH is titled "Picasso Black and White" it would better be described as the above mentioned "In Shades of Gray" in my humble opinion, ;-).

Naturally since most of the pieces are on loan from various musea and private collection, taking photos was taboo. But with some diligence one can find most on the web. There was one though, a Female Nude on a door that was taboo even on the net, why - when other nudes were shown?
Ah well. Mine is not to reason why!

The MFAH Picasso in its normal spot

However, one piece from the MFHA's own was also there and I have been able to photograph it on previous visits. It is, as one could expect knowing Pablo's passion for women, lots of women,
a sculpture of a woman ;-).

Sylvette, on Loan from the McNay in San Antonio

I saw many shades of gray!  Perhaps, too many.. and I don't think the show included all that he did in his life! Plus naturally all those colorful paintings, and sculptures and so much more.
What a prolific artist, and lover, he was.

Lots of Picasso's favorite subjects are here - his mistresses/wives/girl friends although some would not have recognized themselves in their cubist or abstract forms, I think  :-)!

Marie Therese

As an avid reader, albeit clad,  this one did please me rather:
"Reading Woman' (she reclines, relaxed, nude, and reads..way to go, girl)

Kitchen

Of course, the one that really caught my eye - in a tee hee..
really ? way:  "The Kitchen" (as perceived by a male artist ?).
What do you recognize in it that denotes KITCHEN, I ask? 

Perhaps you see, as I seemed to, that there are more than one cook in it, or are those the burners?
I see bottles, and what seems to me an arm? A kitchen timer? 

A puzzle a la Picasso, no? :-).

The most interesting - to me - is Picasso's homage - hmm homage :-) really? to Velasquez'
Las Meninas. Here are both Picasso's - left,  and Velasquez' Las Meninas - right for comparison.

Velasquez

In which, I think, he entwines his profile with Velasquez (in the upper left). Do you see that, too?
And are those  meathooks on the walls? 

Cat, Fish and Bottle

Picasso's enormous oeuvre (he did live a long time,1881-1973, and kept working almost to the last minute) also includes. in shades of gray, which is the theme here : " Cat, Fish and Bottle"(a bit of beige did seems to have crept in here)  and "Goat skull with Bottle"

;-)

Goat skull, etc. (Tate loan)

and other forms of still lives such as these.

Having at the least 8 known mistresses, 2 of which he did marry, and fathering 4 children, Picasso truly liked the good life of "Women, Wine (all those bottles) and Paint" :-), right?

                                                (I substituted paint for 'song' as in the Strauss version ;-)!

IMO, his style mutated-matured ? from representational, cubism, minimalism (think Matisse lines of drawing), existentialism (think Dali) to finally the abstracts for which he is best known, with, however still somewhat recognizable forms (unlike Rothko, et al).

Julio Gonzales: Cactus Woman

The show is exquisitely hung and well worth an extended visit to take it all in. 
In case of gray overload, one ought to retire to the Cafe Express and replenish one's energy for another round of Picasso
or the even more contemporary exhibit stocked with pieces from the MFAH's own collection  just opposite the Cafe, which I am saving for a rainy day :-). Am posting just one sample.. another woman sculpture so Picasso's painted, drawn and sculpted girls won't feel alone :-)!

As a final  tongue-in-cheek homage to Pablo in his BLUE period, here I played a bit at editing photo I took of  the sculpture to reflect my mood when I first saw it in its regular spot at MFAH:

Picasso as perceived in a Blue Mood :-)

ENJOY!