Celestina painted by Picasso: birth of a modern myth

Abstract

The Renaissance character of Celestina experienced, from the 19th century, a new boom. Not only did she reappear in several literary texts, but she also became a frequent motif of pictorial art. The Spanish painter Pablo Picasso had a particular taste for Celestina. Throughout his whole work he repeatedly represented the procuress, contributing to her elevation to a modern myth, that is, according to Roland Barthes, an object which conveys a message complementary to its actual meaning. In the case of Celestina, this message refers to a collective identity diametrically opposed to what is considered good taste. The drawing Celestina Knitting resorts to the metaphorical inventory of folklore to permit the reception of the myth by a broad public. The portrait Celestina, whose model was the owner of a Barcelonian brothel, insists on the referential function of the procuress, thanks to whom the myth can perpetuate in the painter’s present. With the engravings from the Suite 347, Picasso renews the editorial practices of the Renaissance, engaging a dialogue between his paintings and its textual sources. This way he can emphasize the visual essence of the Celestinesque myth.