In February 1895, Picasso held his first exhibition at number 20, in what was then a furniture shop. He received two excellent reviews in the press after showing various head studies. In March, he held his second exhibition in the same street, believed to be at number 54: he showed "El hombre de la gorra" (The Man in the Cap), which is now in the Musée Picasso in Paris.
I paint. Since the death of my sister Conchita, I don’t do anything else. My father is no longer in the mood for anything, and has given me his palette, just like a bullfighter who is about to take the ring.
Now I know how to paint grief. I like to paint beggars of the city, especially this one bearded man. He was the protagonist of my first exhibition, promoted by my first patron, Mr. Ramón Pérez Costales.
The shops in Calle Real become an exhibition hall, and it’s where the local painter I like show their works: Brocos, Ovidio Murguía, Pardo Reguera, Román Navarro… In my case, Mr. Ramón was the one who found the place: he chose a furniture store. Finally, some joy at home! Some fantastic reviews were released in the newspapers. How bad those critics used to think my father was! In the "Diario de Galicia" they compare me to Giotto! And in "La Voz de Galicia", they say that "I will achieve days of glory and a brilliant future".
I have to paint a lot, every day of my life. May inspiration find me at work! I’m working a lot. Shortly after the first exhibition, I did another one, with a portrait of Mr. Adolfito, the beggar of Calle Real who plays the violin so well: “The execution truly expresses courage”, wrote the critic in La Voz.
It was as my mother used to say! She always thought I would be a genius, what an eye she had! She used to say to me: "If you become a soldier, you'll become a general; if you become a priest, you'll become a bishop". And look: I became a painter and became a Picasso!
Authors of the text:
Elena Pardo and Rubén Ventureira