PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973)

Picasso first encountered the wandering acrobats of Paris on the Place des Invalides in 1904. The lives of the so-called saltimbanques, who had performed in the squares of Paris since the 15th century, paralleled that of bohemian artists, as they too lived vicariously by their art. Despite the harsh reality of their impoverished existence, Picasso portrayed them with an almost otherworldly grace in intimate scenes of family life, portraits and theatrical tableaus.