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Over the centuries Japanese erotic prints have been known by different names, such as shunga, makura-e or warai-e. Another related term was higa, meaning ‘secret images’. This catalogue presents for the first time some twenty of these prints which belonged to Picasso. In order to establish a thought-provoking dialogue we have selected a number of Picasso’s own erotic etchings and various works by other artists, both Japanese and Western, which together shed new light on the phenomenon of European interest in Japanese art and on the links between this and the work of Picasso.

  • Exhibition Rooms

    The exhibition is displayed in 5 rooms:

    1. Japonism
    2. Sadayakko
    3. Tentacles
    4. Shunga
    5. Picasso – shunga

    Visit the exhibition rooms

  • Events

    Talk / discussion:
    With Malén Gual and Ricard Bru (co-curators of the exhibition)

    The curators will discuss the starting point and development of the exhibition and offer the public insights into how they prepared the show and what connections it reveals between Picasso’s work and Japanese printmaking


    Date: 25 November. Time: 7.30 p.m.
    Admission: free
    Venue: Lecture Hall


    Print Workshops for adults
    Workshops on Japanese paper and wood engraving, Mokuhanga to washi

    Tutors: Tatsuya Mitani and Maribel Mas The content of the two workshops covers technical aspects as the composition of different papers and inks and mokuhanga hand-inking and woodblock printing processes, and compares these with Western methods, with audio-visual materials to support the theoretical input and a guided tour of the Museum’s exhibition of prints. To ensure a fuller understanding of the materials and techniques, there will be two sessions in which participants can experiment at first-hand with the possibilities of ganpi, kozo and mitsumata fibre papers (cotton, hemp and linen), using handmade inks and traditional printing methods.

    The activity begins with a guided tour of the exhibition. Participants will receive a dossier in hanshi makurabon format (12 x 16 cm) containing all the necessary information and samples of the papers worked with in the workshop. There will also be a video on the development of washi papers.

    Printmaking workshop 1
    Aimed at the general public (18+)
    Monday 16, Wednesday 18 and Friday 20 November 2009

    * The workshop is aimed primarily at students and members of the general public with basic printmaking knowledge.

    - Time: 5.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m.
    - Venue: temporary exhibition rooms and workshop space
    - Admission: 12 €. Materials included
    - Limited number of places: 15 people. Booking required
    - Reservations and payment for this workshop are exclusively online here

    Printmaking workshop 2
    Aimed at professional restorers and conservators
    Monday 23, Wednesday 25 and Friday 27 November 2009.

    * Basic printmaking skills essential.
    * Though aimed primarily at people working in the conservation and restoration fields, the workshop will also be of interest to exhibition curators, art critics, historians and artists who want to expand their theoretical and practical knowledge of mokuhanga traditional Japanese wood engraving.

    - Time: 5.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m.
    - Venue: temporary exhibition rooms and workshop space
    - Admission: 12 €. Materials included
    - Limited number of places: 15 people
    - Booking required: by email museupicasso_reserves@bcn.cat or by phone (+ 34) 93 256 30 00 / 22

    Lecture: Characteristics of Ukiyo-e shunga
    Monta Hayakawa, Professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies

    Ukiyo-e shunga, the erotic paintings and woodblock prints of the Ukiyo-e genre, have received much attention for their explicit depictions of the sexual act and emphasized the proportion of male sexual organs. I would like to point out some of the characteristics that have received very little mention in the published literature discussing Ukiyo-e shunga

    Date: 27 January. Time: 7.30 p.m.
    Admission: free. It is advisable to book by email museupicasso_reserves@bcn.cat or by phone (+ 34) 93 256 30 00 / 22
    Venue: Lecture Hall
    In Japanese with simultaneous translation into Spanish


    Erotic Short Stories (18+)
    Stories that Wet the Lips and the Ears
    With Yoshi Hioki

    Yoshi Hioki will tell a number of erotically charged stories, some of them connected to works in the show, in language that is suggestive and even, at times, grotesque.

    Yoshi Hioki
    Painter and writer, resident in Barcelona since 1991, he also lectures and teaches at the Museu Etnològic de Barcelona and Casa Àsia, and is a member of ANIN, Associació de Narradores i Narradors. In Hioki’s words, ‘Japanese tales are paintings made of words and silence’.

    Dates: December 16 and January 13. Time: 7.30 p.m.
    Admission: 3 €. At the ticket office on the day
    Limited number of places: it is advisable to book by email museupicasso_reserves@bcn.cat or by phone (+ 34) 93 256 30 00 / 22
    Venue: temporary exhibition rooms

    Seen by ... a look at the exhibition.
    With Biel Mesquida, writer and poet

    Date: Wednesday 10 February.
    Time: 7.30 p.m.
    Admission:     free.
    Place: temporary exhibition halls

    Guided Tours

  • Exhibition catalogue

    Over the centuries Japanese erotic prints have been known by different names, such as shunga, makura-e or warai-e. Another related term was higa-e, meaning ‘secret images’. This catalogue presents for the first time some twenty of these prints which belonged to Picasso. In order to establish a thought-provoking dialogue we have selected a number of Picasso’s own erotic etchings and various works by other artists, both Japanese and Western, which together shed new light on the phenomenon of European interest in Japanese art and on the links between this and the work of Picasso.

  • Press

    Dossier de Premsa

  • Credits

    • Organisation and production: Museu Picasso, Barcelona

      Director: Pepe Serra

      Chief Curators: Ricard Bru and Malén Gual

      Exhibition Coordinator: Malén Gual and Lluïsa Amenós

      Research: Malén Gual and Lluïsa Amenós

      Conservation: Reyes Jiménez and Anna Vélez

      Register: Malén Gual and Anna Fàbregas

      Design: Anna Alcubierre

      Assembly: Relluc

      Graphic Design: Guillem Soldevila (GS Gráfica)

      Press and Communication: Manel Baena and Anna Bru de Sala

      Web: Conxa Rodà and El Taller Interactivo

      Graphic Design of the Communication Campaign: Otto & Olaf

  • The Exhibition on Social Media

     

    Photo gallery on Flickr
    Vídeo on Youtube
    Curators' post on the museum's blog