"Picasso – Artist or Covert Spy?"

It is widely known throughout the art world that Pablo Picasso was a tyrant to his family, his children and in many cases his friends. He was also very generous man too; giving away gifts of his work in all shapes and sizes to friends, other artists, writers and in some cases those who did work for him and his wife Jacqueline.


Over the years, a few unknown pieces of Picasso’s work have surfaced by aging individuals who once worked for him in France, or mysteriously appeared at auction houses like Christie’s or Sotheby’s - who have the exclusive rights from the estate to sell his work. The hunt for these unknown pieces, especially his works from 1965 to 1967 are in high demand by not only the art world, but most importantly, the Picasso family heirs.

One has to wonder why the estate would be so eager to find these pieces. Is it to preserve the Picasso legacy? Is it because their strapped for cash and they want to sell them at a high price through their exclusive connection with Christie’s and Sotheby’s who can sell anything with the name Picasso on it. Or is it because these unknown works tell a story they don’t want known to Picasso admirers?

Upon learning about the case of Picasso Estate vs. Pierre Le Guennec I became intrigued about this case. The more I learned about it, the more I got upset and began researching Picasso’s work. Over the last month, I have been reviewing dozens of his masterpieces and noticed a few things that caught my eye. Symbols hidden in each piece that struck me kind of odd, so I began digging into his career, his work and his involvement with the French Communist Party.

With the help of a specialized art and antiquities expert who was kind enough to explain the variations in the artists work, I began to see a pattern of subtle messages and hidden meanings within each of his artistic works. In order to understand the art, you must first understand the artist. What I found in my research will certainly rock not only the art world, but the world as a whole.

It is also widely known throughout historical writings and memoirs, Pablo Picasso never hid his support for the Communist Party, especially during World War II, post-war and this continued until the artist died in 1973.

As a member of the French Resistance, Picasso was known for assisting with the dissemination of propaganda messages through his many masterpieces’. All one has to do is look at his work to see various religious, mythological and historical symbols deep within each stroke. As you look closer, each of these have a hidden propaganda message; messages hidden in the dark areas unseen by the average art enthusiast. Once you see one message, your eye will begin to detect other symbols in his many paintings, drawings, collages or his miniature art gouache pieces.

Over the next few weeks, I will release a number of articles that will help set the stage for my final piece – the unveiling of an unknown attributed work of Pablo Picasso, a gouache on paper that shows miniature art and cleverly hidden art, some of these contain symbols and codes that span decades, it definitely tells the story of a man who was much more than just an artist.

Next In Series: "Picasso - The Chicago Picasso or  Secret to the Great Game"

All information contained within this series will be used in a book entitled “Picasso – The Art of War” all rights reserved and copyrighted to Elizabeth Kilbride. Permission is not granted to anyone for the copying or distribution of this information in print or media without the express permission of the author. This copyright is under both U.S.A and International Copyright Laws.