Picasso without Picasso

Pablo Picasso inspired countless other artists around the world. Now some 200 works by 90 international artists who've been influenced in some way by the Spanish master are on show in Hamburg. The result is an exhibition about Picasso, but without anything that came from his hand. Pictured is a photograph by S. Miller of actor John Malkovich posing as the artist.

Picasso's famous anti-war painting "Guernica," shown for the first time in Germany 60 years ago, is a focal point of the exhibition, which includes six interpretations of the work. This one was created in 2008 by Berlin-based artist Thomas Zipp.

The show examines the emotion and fascination that Picasso's work has evoked among many of his successors over the past decades. He was adored, rejected and reinterpreted, and served as a motivating muse or role model. As his works became famous, they also changed the way audiences viewed art. This 2001 work by Sean Landers is entitled "Genius."

Today, Picasso's reputation is practically unmatched. His works draw millions of visitors to museums all over the world. "Picasso is a synonym for the modern art of the 20th century," said Dirk Luckow, director of the Deichtorhallen art museum in Hamburg. This painting was created by American artist George Condo in 1990.

Many of the works on show are on loan from other major museums, including Tate Modern in London and Centre Pompidou in Paris. The north wing of the Deichtorhallen museum has been newly reopened after renovation. "This is our rise to the big leagues," said Luckow. Pictured is a Paul Klee work from 1939 entitled "Bewegte Seele" (Moved soul).

Picasso's influence on the art scenes in East Germany and West Germany after World War II is also a special focus of the show. Works by big-name artists like A.R. Penck, Georg Baselitz and Karl Otto Götz (pictured) represent both sides of the Iron Curtain.

Hamburg's Deichtorhallen goes beyond Europe and also looks at Picasso's impact worldwide. For example, three significant works from China are on show, including this one by Zhou Tiehai, who is famous for his satirical approach.

The focus of the exhibition is on works from the past 50 years. However, a few pieces of art were specially created for the Hamburg show, by artists like Thomas Houseago, the artists' collective Gelitin, Robert Longo and John Stezaker. Stezaker's "Courtesy of the Approach" is pictured.

Through the works of others, the show traces Picasso's various artistic phases, including the so-called Blue Period (1901-1904), which is characterized by loneliness. But livelier impressions from his Rose Period (1904-1906), including circuses, harlequins and tightrope walkers, can also be found. This untitled work was created by Rachel Harrison in 2011.

All of the artists represented in Hamburg have one thing in common: The willingness to have their work compared with that of a genius everyone is familiar with. That confirms just how persistent Picasso's influence has been over the decades. Here is another untitled work by Rachel Harrison from 2011.

Until 1984, the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg served as an indoor market hall. It was repurposed as an exhibition hall and reopened on November 9, 1989. Today, it is one of the largest exhibition spaces for contemporary art and photography in Europe. The show "Picasso in Contemporary Art" runs through July 12 in honor of the Deichtorhallen's 25th anniversary.