Italian land artist Dario Gambarin has arguably created the largest-ever portrait of artist Pablo Picasso on his death anniversary.
For the feat, Dario Gambarin chose Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), a self-portrait by Picasso which was also one of his first acclaimed works. Using a tractor, Gambarin re-created the work across a 2500-hectare tract of land in Castagnaro, Verona in Northern Italy. “I wanted to dedicate this colossal portrait to Picasso because he is one of those masters from whom you never stop learning,” Gambarin said in an interview. He also said that it was his intention to create the largest-ever portrait of the maestro in the world.
Dario Gambarin has made a name for himself for his style of agrarian land portraits. Over the years, he has etched the likeness of many famous individuals on vast tracts of land. In 2013, he created pictures of US President John F. Kennedy and Pope Francis. In 2016, he drew the image of Donald Trump, who was a presidential candidate at the time. Other famous names include Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, and Leonardo da Vinci.
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The portrait comes at a time when the art world is remembering the modern maestro on his 50th death anniversary (Picasso died on April 8th, 1973). Many other museums are also holding exhibitions focusing on the artist’s career, including the Brooklyn Museum retrospective titled ‘Its Pablo-matic’. The show is part of a revived debate around examining Picasso’s legacy in the shadow of the problematic aspects of his life.
