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Wagner was popular throughout Europe, and at this time, his operas were having a profound impact on the cultural scene in which Picasso found himself. many of the operas revived Norse and Arthurian legend and were laced with underlying mystical themes which were an inspiration to the Symbolists and Modernistas with whom Picasso associated.
Picasso probably attended the Wagnerian performances performed at Els Quatre Ghats, his favorite haunt.
34 years later, an important Wagnerian scene, adapted by Picasso's extraordinary imagination, emerges in "The Unknown Masterpiece." What is depicted bears a direct relationship to the pivotal scene in Wagner's opera, 'Parsifal' - the moment of mystical transformation, when the holy spear hovers harmlessly over Parsifal's head, after being hurled at him, by the black magician, Klingsor.
The opera had special significance for Picasso in 1934, elements in it related closely to his personal life and to his inevitable concerns about the rise of Hitler and the threat of another war with Germany.
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