5 themes characterize Picasso's last years

   Few people ever had a more productive old age than Pablo Picasso. And few people ever hated growing old more.

   "He's full of energy, but he also knows death is around the corner," said Tariana Navas-Nieves, who curated an exhibit of Picasso etchings that opens today at the Fine Arts Center. "He has fears and anxieties about old age, death and about becoming obsolete as an artist. He's in a frenzy to get everything out."

   The 40 etchings in the show were made when the Spanish master was ages 84 to 90. They're a selection from the roughly 750 etchings Picasso created in his final decade. In these works, an artist not known for introspection looks back on his life - with often disturbing results.

   "He goes back, and confronts some of the themes of his life and art again," she said. The show's five major themes are the theater, the circus, "La Celestina" - the first masterpiece of Spanish Renaissance literature - Old Masters, and sexuality and desire. Their significance for Picasso was both actual and symbolic.

   - Theater: "Picasso considered his life as theater," Navas-Nieves said. In his youth, he designed for ballet - including Diaghilev's legendary Les Ballets Russes - and his first wife, Olga, was a ballerina.

   - Circus: "These people were part of the cast of characters in the theater of Picasso's life," Navas-Nieves said. "He was fascinated with the periphery of society." It was also an important part of his youth - a place where friends would meet.

   - "La Celestina": Fernando de Rojas' 1499 masterpiece is a parable of destructive greed. It also introduces an important figure in these late etchings: the voyeur.

   - Old Masters: "Picasso always consideredhimself as continuing the long line of great European artists," Navas-Nieves said. One series of etchings is based on brothel scenes by Degas; others feature Rembrandt-influenced figures.

   - Sexuality: "Picasso's late graphic work is centered on desire," Navas-Nieves said. "You see his uninhibited erotic imagination."

   But even here there's a symbolic side, she said: "For Picasso, the sexual act was associated with the creative process."

   All the works are artist's proofs, made before the actual printing, and came from Picasso's personal collection. "Because they're proofs, they're really rich, sharp and beautiful," Navas-Nieves said.

   It's not a blockbuster show, but Navas-Nieves said it's been illuminating to work with a group of works she calls little gems. "It has confirmed my belief that he was, indeed, one of the great artists of the 20th century," she said. "It also has provided an in-depth look at the virtuosity he possessed, and the amazing energy of a man, who in his 80s, is at the peak of his career. In graphic work, I can only think of Rembrandt and Goya producing at that level."

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PABLO PICASSO: ETCHINGS 1966-1971

When: Opening 5-8 p.m. today; regular hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and Sundays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturdays; through Sept. 14
Where: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St.
Admission: Opening $7.50 members/$12 nonmembers; regular exhibit admission $5 members/$10 nonmembers