National Geographic Sets April UK Air Date For ‘Genius: Picasso’ With Antonio Banderas
The next instalment of National Geographic’s award-winning ‘Genius’ series titled ‘Genius: Picasso‘ will premiere in the UK in April 2018 the channel has announced.
Few painters have been as awe-inspiringly prolific as Pablo Picasso. One of the most influential and celebrated artists of the 20th century, his career spanned more than 80 of his 91 years, during which time he produced an estimated 50,000 works. His passionate nature and relentless creative drive were inextricably linked to his personal life, which included tumultuous marriages, numerous affairs and ever-shifting political and personal alliances. Constantly reinventing himself, Picasso always strove to innovate and push the boundaries of artistic expression, leading to his worldwide renown as a genius.
Antonio Banderas (‘The Skin I’m In’, ‘The Mask of Zorro’) brings to life the artistic career of the titular artist: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Crispiniano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz Picasso… Although thankfully, they shortened it to ‘Picasso’ when naming the series!
Joining him as the younger Pablo is Alex Rich (‘Glow’ ‘True Detective’), who rejects academic study and joins the circle of young bohemian artists and writers struggling to make it in early 20th century Spain and France.
Joining them in the cast are Clémence Poésy (‘The Tunnel’, ‘Final Portrait’) as Françoise Gilot, a French painter and best-selling author whose decade-long affair with Picasso yielded two children and who was his only lover strong enough to withstand his ferocious intensity and move on with her life. Sebastian Roché (‘Young Pope’, ‘The Man in the High Castle’) portrays Emile Gilot, Francoise’s tyrannical father. Robert Sheehan (‘Fortitude’, ‘Misfits’), plays Carles Casagemas, a Spanish art student and poet who was one of Picasso’s closest friends. Poppy Delevingne (‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’, ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’), stars as Marie-Thérèse Walter, a lover and muse of Picasso, who mothered his first daughter, and Aisling Franciosi (‘Game of Thrones’, ‘The Fall’) plays Fernande Olivier, a French artist and model, of whom Picasso painted more than 60 portraits.
As with other anthology series, a number of the first season’s cast are returning in new roles for this season. Samantha Colley (‘The Crucible’) plays Dora Maar, a French photographer and painter who was also Picasso’s lover and muse; T.R. Knight (‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘The Catch’) stars as Max Jacob, one of Picasso’s first friends in Paris; Seth Gabel (‘Salem’, ‘Fringe’) portrays Guillaume Apollinaire, one of the foremost poets of the 20th century and a frequent collaborator with Picasso; and Johnny Flynn (‘Lovesick’) will make a special appearance as French actor Alain Cuny.
‘Genius: Picasso‘ comes to National Geographic UK from Monday, 23 April 2018 at 8pm.
