pablo picasso model sylvette david at tate liverpool

By Catherine Jones on May 21, 10 10:55 AM

Someone recently said to me that of all the arts disciplines (theatre, music and so on) art itself gave you the chance of a direct link with the person who created it.
When you see that canvas, or sculpture, or whatever, there's no Kevin Bacon Six Degrees of Separation about it. The artist created it, and you are looking at something their hands shaped.

Imagine the added excitement then of not only seeing the original painting but meeting the person in that painting, which is what happened last night when I met Sylvette David (now known as Lydia Corbett) whose portrait is part of the current Picasso exhibition at Tate Liverpool.
Now 75, but looking nowhere near that age, she was 19 when the artist painted her picture back in 1954. I asked her how many times he'd painted her - 40, plus sculptures. So a real muse!
She was a delight and smiled as she reminisced about the rattan rocking chair he posed her in, always the same side of her face, and how Brigitte Bardot basically aped her look.
I asked her about Picasso and she told me: "Picasso told me creativity is happiness."
He must have been the happiest man in the world then. And Sylvette, sorry, Lydia, seems like a very happy lady too.
Picasso: Peace and Freedom is on until August 30.