Pablo Picasso and the publishers Gustavo Gili: work and friendship

The professional relationship between publishers Gustavo Gili and Pablo Picasso began with the first commission they made to him, involving the illustration of the treatise by José Delgado, alias “Pepe Illo” (or “Hillo”), La Tauromaquia o Arte de torear [Tauromachy, or the Art of Bullfighting]. At the beginning of the 1930s, and for no apparent reason, the project was halted, even though the artist had already done a series of prints for the project.

The second stage began in 1956, when the son of the founder, Gustavo Gili Esteve, came into contact with Picasso to revive the project initiated by his father. This was the beginning of a long and fruitful professional bond, which would soon become a great friendship as well.

A variety of publishing projects were developed during this new period. In the production of books for modern bibliophiles, a highlight was the illustration of three works: La Tauromaquia o Arte de torear de Pepe Hillo (Illo) (1959), featuring a set of sugar-lift aquatints, which led to one of his most collaborative illustrated books, Picasso il·lustrador [Picasso Illustrator]; and El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz [The Burial of the Count of Orgaz] (1969), where Picasso created images to accompany his own text.

Little by little, a truly loyal friendship was forged between Picasso and his wife Jacqueline Roque, and Gustavo Gili Esteve and his wife Anna Maria Torra Amat. The relationship was particularly bonded by the role played by the two women.

This exhibition presents for the first time an overall perspective of the Gustau Gili and Anna Maria Torra Archive, acquired by the museum in 2014, as well as a selection from the documentary material proceeding from the Editorial Gustavo Gili Donation of that same year. It is complemented by works from national and foreign museums and archives, along with works from private collections.

The relationship between Picasso and the Gili family had Barcelona as its setting, a city with an important tradition in publishing. As is widely known, Picasso had lived in the city and would forever be united to it through family and friends. The exhibition is thus structured around this indivisible triangle: Picasso-Gili-Barcelona.