17 V (Francoise, Claude and Paloma) 1954, oil on canvas, 116cm x 89cm, by Pablo Picasso, copy by Derek Kosbab.
The original oil painting by Pablo Picasso titled 17 V is painted on a canvas that has a chunk cut from it, like the drawing here.
But, the missing part did not interfere with the outline of the mother of two of Picasso’s children: Francoise Gilot. The children pictured in the foreground are, on the left, son Claude and on the right, daughter Paloma.
It is interesting to note that the white outline of Francoise is not actually a white line painted onto the blue background. Rather, the white outline is bare canvas around which blue has been painted, thus creating the illusion of a line.
This picture is, in many ways typical of Picasso’s work since the colours, red and green, extend out of the children’s bodies to create balance and, I think, entertainment. So, rather than being like a photograph of the children playing while being nurtured by their mother, we have a clear representation of what is occurring, and who is involved, in an original, entertaining, balanced and colourful manner.
I have been fortunate enough to visit Picasso galleries in Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and New York and have seen, perhaps, more than 1000 of his artworks. However, a reference book I have at home states that in his lifetime Picasso created more than 12,000 works of art. What an artist! What imagination! I have only to see another 11,000 of his artworks and I will have seen the lot.
I was attracted to copying this picture when I renovated a training organisation site for culturally and linguistically diverse students learning English in Australia. The picture indicates a person nurturing and teaching children. While the students who were going to be learning English at this training site were adults, I wanted them to feel that they were going to be cared for and looked after. I hung this painting immediately inside the front door so that, upon entering, it was the first thing each person saw.
The training site is now closed.
17 V
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