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Picasso, nero ja paholainen
Pablo Picasso oli syvien ristiriitojen ihminen: ristiinnaulitun samastuva ateisiti.
Sulavasti seurapiireissä liikkuva boheemi kapinallinen.
Maailmanmies, jolla oli maalaismiehen ennakoluulot.
Tulinen rakastaja ja väkivaltaisen seksuaalinen kuin Minotautushirviö.
Ylpeä isä, joka jätti lapsensa perinöttä.
Kommunisti puolueen jäsen, joka kulutti miljoonia elämiseen.
Elämänjanoinen kuolemanpelkuri
The Designer of the Cover Image/Päällyksen suunnittelu: Jaakko Ollikainen
The origin of the photo/Valokuva: Karsh of Ottawa/Camera Press London
Sulavasti seurapiireissä liikkuva boheemi kapinallinen.
Maailmanmies, jolla oli maalaismiehen ennakoluulot.
Tulinen rakastaja ja väkivaltaisen seksuaalinen kuin Minotautushirviö.
Ylpeä isä, joka jätti lapsensa perinöttä.
Kommunisti puolueen jäsen, joka kulutti miljoonia elämiseen.
Elämänjanoinen kuolemanpelkuri
The Designer of the Cover Image/Päällyksen suunnittelu: Jaakko Ollikainen
The origin of the photo/Valokuva: Karsh of Ottawa/Camera Press London
667 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
45 people are currently reading
1023 people want to read
About the author
Arianna Huffington
65 books879 followersArianna Huffington is the chair, president, and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, a nationally syndicated columnist, and author of fourteen books.
In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that quickly became one of the most widely-read, linked to, and frequently-cited media brands on the Internet. In 2012, the site won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting.
She has been named to Time Magazine's list of the world’s 100 most influential people and the Forbes Most Powerful Women list. Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in economics. At 21, she became president of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union.
She serves on several boards, including HuffPost’s partners in Spain, the newspaper EL PAÍS and its parent company PRISA; Onex; The Center for Public Integrity; and The Committee to Protect Journalists.
Her 14th book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder was published by Crown in March 2014 and debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list.
In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that quickly became one of the most widely-read, linked to, and frequently-cited media brands on the Internet. In 2012, the site won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting.
She has been named to Time Magazine's list of the world’s 100 most influential people and the Forbes Most Powerful Women list. Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in economics. At 21, she became president of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union.
She serves on several boards, including HuffPost’s partners in Spain, the newspaper EL PAÍS and its parent company PRISA; Onex; The Center for Public Integrity; and The Committee to Protect Journalists.
Her 14th book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder was published by Crown in March 2014 and debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
March 31, 2017
In a biography I am looking for an impartial presentation. I neither like hagiographies or those biographies that negatively skew facts. The author of this book chooses to present a preponderance of negative over positive assertions concerning the artist, his life and his art. By book’s end, given such a negative presentation, I no longer trusted anything I was told.
Much reads as gossip. Often we are told opinions of those involved in disputes. Tell me, how impartial can these views be?!
I by no means am stating that Picasso was an angel. He was arrogant, cruel and self-centered. Humility was a concept foreign to the man’s character. Sex was paramount, both in his life and in his art. When he grew old and couldn’t perform sexually and as physical infirmities mounted, one can easily imagine the effect this had on him. When he died at the age of 91 he was not thinking clearly, but who does? I feel that a biographer must take such into consideration if a balanced analysis of the subject’s personality is to be achieved. Picasso’s personality and his family circumstances are covered but not in a balanced manner.
Picasso was an innovative painter, sculptor, ceramicist, printmaker, poet and playwright. He was always doing something new! He never stood still in his practice of art. In trying new art forms he looked at and listened to others, then broke all the rules. What he did, he did in his own way, and what he did worked! He expressed in his art an essence that few others could achieve.
The book moves forward chronologically and all his different art forms are covered. We follow his paintings from the “Blue Period” to experiments with primitive art to different types of cubism to the “Green Period” to Dadaism to Surrealism and sexualism in art. And of course Guernica, not an art form but a monument of art expression. Along the way we follow his family, his lovers, his acquaintances and his communist ties.
When I look at art I don’t want it explained, and certainly not by one who dislikes the art and who dislikes the person who made it. If the artwork doesn’t speak to you, then so be it. I feel strongly that art should be separated from the actions of those who create it. I can strongly dislike the behavior of an artist and yet still appreciate that person’s art. I believe Huffington intertwines the two.
What I did like in this book is the author’s presentation of the other artists that Picasso rubbed shoulders with in Montparnasse and Montmartre at the turn of the 20th century, Paris of the Belle Époque era. I personally was interested in what we are told about Gertrude Stein, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Henri Rousseau, Alberto Giacometti, Guillaume Apollinaire, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, and Sergei Diaghilev. Interesting tidbits and lots about how each of them interacted with the others.
I did point out that there is a lot of gossip to be found within the pages of this book. The nastiest portions focus on how the mistresses, wives, children and servants viewed one another. Such gossip doesn’t lead to a better understanding of relationships.
People were devoted to Picasso. As he is drawn here, this is incredibly hard to believe. I see this as a major fault of the book.
Picasso said, “It is not what an artist does that counts, but what he is.“ Surely this will give food for thought in observing Picasso’s own life.
Picasso was a seismograph of his age. He lived from 1881 - 1973. He was tormented and filled with rage. He challenged and he shocked. One perhaps can rightly ask if in his art one senses heart. Maybe in some, but in others that is quite simply not the message Picasso is trying to convey.
We are told that Huffington has interviewed several who knew Picasso and has researched documentation that already exists. The book is studded with quotes, but some of them are from unspecified sources. She has spoken to Françoise Gilot, one of his numerous mistresses and the mother of two of his four children. She has in fact written her own biography on Picasso: Life with Picasso. Personally, I would recommend reading that rather than getting the second hand references as they are presented here.
The audiobook is narrated by Wanda McCaddon. She reflects through her intonation the feelings the author expresses in her lines. I think a narrator should help the reader understand what an author is saying, so I have no complaint about this. I must point out that to listen to the audiobook I was forced to slow down the narration speed to 75%. Only at this speed did it flow naturally. Only at this speed did it sound as people really do talk! At other speeds you will detect a distortion.
Much reads as gossip. Often we are told opinions of those involved in disputes. Tell me, how impartial can these views be?!
I by no means am stating that Picasso was an angel. He was arrogant, cruel and self-centered. Humility was a concept foreign to the man’s character. Sex was paramount, both in his life and in his art. When he grew old and couldn’t perform sexually and as physical infirmities mounted, one can easily imagine the effect this had on him. When he died at the age of 91 he was not thinking clearly, but who does? I feel that a biographer must take such into consideration if a balanced analysis of the subject’s personality is to be achieved. Picasso’s personality and his family circumstances are covered but not in a balanced manner.
Picasso was an innovative painter, sculptor, ceramicist, printmaker, poet and playwright. He was always doing something new! He never stood still in his practice of art. In trying new art forms he looked at and listened to others, then broke all the rules. What he did, he did in his own way, and what he did worked! He expressed in his art an essence that few others could achieve.
The book moves forward chronologically and all his different art forms are covered. We follow his paintings from the “Blue Period” to experiments with primitive art to different types of cubism to the “Green Period” to Dadaism to Surrealism and sexualism in art. And of course Guernica, not an art form but a monument of art expression. Along the way we follow his family, his lovers, his acquaintances and his communist ties.
When I look at art I don’t want it explained, and certainly not by one who dislikes the art and who dislikes the person who made it. If the artwork doesn’t speak to you, then so be it. I feel strongly that art should be separated from the actions of those who create it. I can strongly dislike the behavior of an artist and yet still appreciate that person’s art. I believe Huffington intertwines the two.
What I did like in this book is the author’s presentation of the other artists that Picasso rubbed shoulders with in Montparnasse and Montmartre at the turn of the 20th century, Paris of the Belle Époque era. I personally was interested in what we are told about Gertrude Stein, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Henri Rousseau, Alberto Giacometti, Guillaume Apollinaire, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, and Sergei Diaghilev. Interesting tidbits and lots about how each of them interacted with the others.
I did point out that there is a lot of gossip to be found within the pages of this book. The nastiest portions focus on how the mistresses, wives, children and servants viewed one another. Such gossip doesn’t lead to a better understanding of relationships.
People were devoted to Picasso. As he is drawn here, this is incredibly hard to believe. I see this as a major fault of the book.
Picasso said, “It is not what an artist does that counts, but what he is.“ Surely this will give food for thought in observing Picasso’s own life.
Picasso was a seismograph of his age. He lived from 1881 - 1973. He was tormented and filled with rage. He challenged and he shocked. One perhaps can rightly ask if in his art one senses heart. Maybe in some, but in others that is quite simply not the message Picasso is trying to convey.
We are told that Huffington has interviewed several who knew Picasso and has researched documentation that already exists. The book is studded with quotes, but some of them are from unspecified sources. She has spoken to Françoise Gilot, one of his numerous mistresses and the mother of two of his four children. She has in fact written her own biography on Picasso: Life with Picasso. Personally, I would recommend reading that rather than getting the second hand references as they are presented here.
The audiobook is narrated by Wanda McCaddon. She reflects through her intonation the feelings the author expresses in her lines. I think a narrator should help the reader understand what an author is saying, so I have no complaint about this. I must point out that to listen to the audiobook I was forced to slow down the narration speed to 75%. Only at this speed did it flow naturally. Only at this speed did it sound as people really do talk! At other speeds you will detect a distortion.
October 18, 2011
I had read my first book on Picasso already when I was a teenager and it was the well-known ‘Life with Picasso’ by Françoise Gilot. I could not understand back then why actually Picasso got married to that Russian ballerina Olga Koklova. Now I know it thanks to this very thorough and systematic biography by Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington. I did not know as well that one of Picasso’s numerous names was Juan Nepomuceno after his godfather. I was surprised to know how very sociable he was. ‘I have no true friends; I have only lovers,’ Picasso would say. Jean-Jacques Rousseau confessed somewhere that he used to be in love with every woman he met as well. How different he seemed to be however from Picasso whose bisexual relationships were full of violent rage and even sadism. ‘It was the language of power which Picasso understood and spoke fluently.’ In my opinion, the twentieth century was peopled with such Nietzschean Supermen.
Most interesting for me was reading about Picasso’s struggle not getting older. How he pretended he was untouched by age. How he began to suffer from people’s presence. Moreover, as his health took a turn for the worse, there appeared futility, disgust, nightmares, and paranoia.
I liked the author’s Epilogue very much too. I can only agree that Picasso ‘brought to painting the vision of disintegration that Schoenberg and Bartok brought to music, Kafka and Beckett to literature.’
Most interesting for me was reading about Picasso’s struggle not getting older. How he pretended he was untouched by age. How he began to suffer from people’s presence. Moreover, as his health took a turn for the worse, there appeared futility, disgust, nightmares, and paranoia.
I liked the author’s Epilogue very much too. I can only agree that Picasso ‘brought to painting the vision of disintegration that Schoenberg and Bartok brought to music, Kafka and Beckett to literature.’
August 27, 2022
If you believe a truthful picture of a man can be painted by interviewing his ex-wives, this book is for you.
March 3, 2009
Not bad. Picasso is certainly a much more intriguing character than Arianna Huffington's writing style. It was a good read once I got over her style and (to me) odd sentence structure coming out of left field every once in a while.
Good overview of Picasso's life that makes me want to explore his life a bit more. I'm eying Francoise Gilot's "Life with Picasso" because it purportedly sheds much more light on his work methods and approaches to his work, and as an artist herself as well as one of his wives, it has a lot to offer.
The book is well documented and apparently A.R. had access to a number of people in Picasso's life that had not given interviews before. Without having read any other books about Picasso's life, I'd hazard an opinion that this one does a pretty good job.
Good overview of Picasso's life that makes me want to explore his life a bit more. I'm eying Francoise Gilot's "Life with Picasso" because it purportedly sheds much more light on his work methods and approaches to his work, and as an artist herself as well as one of his wives, it has a lot to offer.
The book is well documented and apparently A.R. had access to a number of people in Picasso's life that had not given interviews before. Without having read any other books about Picasso's life, I'd hazard an opinion that this one does a pretty good job.
May 16, 2012
My first thought when I finished this book was, "Wow." Before I read this book, I thought of Picasso as an incredible artist but a pig of a man because of the way he had treated the women in his life, as well as his children. After reading this book, that impression was not dispelled. I'm not entirely sure the "wow" was because of what he did to the women in his life or because he ended up a victim of his own game, in the guise of Jacqueline, at the end of his life.
The book itself is very information dense, particularly in the beginning when Picasso leaves Spain for Paris. It would seem Picasso was always up to something, whether it was a new way of painting, a new woman or new people to adore him. It would also seem that Picasso never learned the lesson of "what you seek, if you don't find it within you, you will never find it without." He was always seeking that ultimate painting, that one woman or that one friend who would completely fulfill him and always failing. Just when he was on the verge of finding fulfillment, he set about destroying it. The man left, not a trail, but an interstate's worth of people behind him that he had crushed, humiliated or completely destroyed throughout his life.
The one woman who survived living with Picasso reasonably intact did so because she refused to completely give in to him. She always found some way to more or less keep her center, despite his abuse. The other women in his life ended up broken in many ways and the stronger they seemed to be when they met Picasso, the worse they fell. Dora Maar seemed to get the worse of it, ending up in an asylum for a time. His children didn't seem to fare much better, considering their father lost interest in them and eventually abandoned them.
This was not an easy book for me to read, yet at the same time it was as if I was witnessing a lifelong trainwreck. I couldn't look away. Toward the end, it should have been easy to feel as if Picasso had gotten what he deserved in the form of Jacqueline, who proceeded to completely isolate him from the world. She also forced him to depend on her for almost everything outside of painting by playing on his fears and paranoia. Instead, I was left shaking my head at all the damage this one man did to so many of those around him, even after his death. All because they dared to love him.
Wow, indeed.
The book itself is very information dense, particularly in the beginning when Picasso leaves Spain for Paris. It would seem Picasso was always up to something, whether it was a new way of painting, a new woman or new people to adore him. It would also seem that Picasso never learned the lesson of "what you seek, if you don't find it within you, you will never find it without." He was always seeking that ultimate painting, that one woman or that one friend who would completely fulfill him and always failing. Just when he was on the verge of finding fulfillment, he set about destroying it. The man left, not a trail, but an interstate's worth of people behind him that he had crushed, humiliated or completely destroyed throughout his life.
The one woman who survived living with Picasso reasonably intact did so because she refused to completely give in to him. She always found some way to more or less keep her center, despite his abuse. The other women in his life ended up broken in many ways and the stronger they seemed to be when they met Picasso, the worse they fell. Dora Maar seemed to get the worse of it, ending up in an asylum for a time. His children didn't seem to fare much better, considering their father lost interest in them and eventually abandoned them.
This was not an easy book for me to read, yet at the same time it was as if I was witnessing a lifelong trainwreck. I couldn't look away. Toward the end, it should have been easy to feel as if Picasso had gotten what he deserved in the form of Jacqueline, who proceeded to completely isolate him from the world. She also forced him to depend on her for almost everything outside of painting by playing on his fears and paranoia. Instead, I was left shaking my head at all the damage this one man did to so many of those around him, even after his death. All because they dared to love him.
Wow, indeed.
March 3, 2016
Harkening back to an earlier book I read "The Psychopath Test" by Jon Ronson, I believe they would have to invent a whole new test for Pablo Picasso because he would be off the charts. However, the Modern Lovers' ode to the artist is accurate in that "nobody ever called Pablo Picasso an asshole" (at least not while he was alive). So great was his ability to manipulate his sychophants that he became a worldwide symbol of Peace and humanity. In private, he makes Salvador Dali and Gala look like The Waltons (and they were also egomaniacs who were seriously lacking in empathy). Only one of his long term partners, Francoise (an artist in her own right and mother of Picasso's children Claude and Paloma) managed to escape without becoming a deranged, dependent (she later married Dr. Jonas Salk). It is her story which is the source of many of the gory details. While Picasso did have the ability to charm, this book makes it clear that he did so only to lure people into some sort of humiliating trap.
Having seen a fair number of Picasso's paintings I can say that some made more of an impression than others. However, knowing the context in which they were created, would make them a lot more interesting to me were I to revisit them. Arianna Huffington is not an art historian, which was one of the main criticisms leveled at this biography. However, it is not meant as art history as much as straight biography. Anyone looking to immerse themselves in early 20th century "Café Society" (as well as those who cannot resist looking at a train wreck) will not be able to put this book down.
Having seen a fair number of Picasso's paintings I can say that some made more of an impression than others. However, knowing the context in which they were created, would make them a lot more interesting to me were I to revisit them. Arianna Huffington is not an art historian, which was one of the main criticisms leveled at this biography. However, it is not meant as art history as much as straight biography. Anyone looking to immerse themselves in early 20th century "Café Society" (as well as those who cannot resist looking at a train wreck) will not be able to put this book down.
August 5, 2017
Quite fascinating. Some people have been critical because it is so negative on him and his relationships on women, but based on the evidence I don't think much of the criticisms are too far off. Particularly interesting is his relationship with Francoise Gilot, the one woman he wounded but didn't destroy. She paid a heavy price for her rebellion against him, however.
August 8, 2020
From IMdB:
The passionate James Ivory drama tells the story of Françoise Gilot (Natascha McElhone), the only lover of Pablo Picasso (Sir Anthony Hopkins) who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty, and move on with her life.
With Anthony Hopkins, Natascha McElhone (Françoise), Julianne Moore (Dora Maar), Diane Venora (Jacqueline), Joss Ackland (Henri Matisse), Jane Lapotaire (Olga Picasso), Joseph Maher (Kahnweiler)...
A superb and unique movie about Picasso's life. Now, it's time to read Francoise Gilot autobiography "Life with Picasso" and Dora Maar's biography "Dora Maar, With And Without Picasso: A Biography"
by Mary Ann Caws.
The passionate James Ivory drama tells the story of Françoise Gilot (Natascha McElhone), the only lover of Pablo Picasso (Sir Anthony Hopkins) who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty, and move on with her life.
With Anthony Hopkins, Natascha McElhone (Françoise), Julianne Moore (Dora Maar), Diane Venora (Jacqueline), Joss Ackland (Henri Matisse), Jane Lapotaire (Olga Picasso), Joseph Maher (Kahnweiler)...
A superb and unique movie about Picasso's life. Now, it's time to read Francoise Gilot autobiography "Life with Picasso" and Dora Maar's biography "Dora Maar, With And Without Picasso: A Biography"
by Mary Ann Caws.
September 9, 2019
I do not understand why this book has such harsh criticism; I found it to be captivating!
People say that the author has an agenda and is trying to make Picasso look bad, but I found her tone to be very neutral in the sens that she only uses what the people around him said about him. She takes nothing away from his genius, his creativity and importance in the developpement of modern art. She shows him for what he really was; a flawed, imperfect human being and if you do not like to see a crestfallen hero, then maybe this book isn't quite for you. This book really helps to further understand the art of an artist who helped shape this world!
As for the criticism about her style of writing; I thought it to be very insightful and intestesting, but then again I read it in french so maybe the translation isn't the same.
People say that the author has an agenda and is trying to make Picasso look bad, but I found her tone to be very neutral in the sens that she only uses what the people around him said about him. She takes nothing away from his genius, his creativity and importance in the developpement of modern art. She shows him for what he really was; a flawed, imperfect human being and if you do not like to see a crestfallen hero, then maybe this book isn't quite for you. This book really helps to further understand the art of an artist who helped shape this world!
As for the criticism about her style of writing; I thought it to be very insightful and intestesting, but then again I read it in french so maybe the translation isn't the same.
October 21, 2015
This was written in the right wing portion of Arianna Huffington's career. Melodramatic, overwrought and seems almost totally focused on condemnation of the bad character traits and communism of Picasso. It's an entertaining if not illuminating biography.
September 12, 2022
I didn’t finish the book. It’s long, and he’s a narcissistic asshole.
September 14, 2016
Wow. This was actually kind of depressing, Picasso was just so awful in so many ways. And yet how fascinating to have been able to meet him for yourself, obviously he had a tremendous ability to keep everyone in his thrall, so there must have been something there aside from his artistic talent. (Maybe I just can't imagine fighting another woman for a man, like his poor ladies warred with each other...especially when he deliberately set it up for his own amusement...hey honey, you win, you can have the SOB and good luck to you.) But whatever one's final thoughts on Pablo, his story does make for engrossing reading.
February 10, 2011
As a lover of art, I was fascinated by Picasso's life, that is, until I read it and realized he was a profound monster who hated women as well as any other artist who dared cross his path. Unforunately, I'll never look at his work again without it being overshadowed by his attempt to destroy the lives of every person he came in contact. Particularly horrific was how he allowed one of his best friends to die in a concentration camp rather than sign a letter to free him.
January 8, 2019
I really enjoyed this as a first book to read about Picasso. I'm reading a couple others right now, "Life With Picasso" by Francoise Gilot and "Matisse and Picasso: their Rivalry and Friendship" by Flan, and I always know when things are happening and who the other characters are, while going into more depth. This is a great 'survey' book, taking you through his life with all of its scenes and actors, and Ms. Huffington's opinions are colorful and arguably insightful.
April 24, 2024
Picasso retratado como un hombre mezquino con amigos y con sus afectos (familia, romances). Una fuerza destructora, inseguro, lleno de maldad, que terminó sus días al lado de una mujer vengativa y oscura; una compañía acorde para tu triste final. Alejado de sus hijos y nietos por decisión propia, su fría y fétida sombra siguió a algunos de ellos, sembrando discordia y resentimiento.
Es hora de desmitificar a Picasso. Ya no existen vacas sagradas; nunca debieron existir.
Es hora de desmitificar a Picasso. Ya no existen vacas sagradas; nunca debieron existir.
June 4, 2010
I went into this book knowing little about Picasso aside from the myth that he created around himself and finished with a much deeper understanding of who he was as a person... Really illuminated the anger, myth, and misogyny in his work. Definitely recommend this one- well written- as much as I ended up not liking Picasso the man, I couldn't put the book down!
July 7, 2020
Huffington definitely had in for Picasso with this biography. I don't believe she treated her subject or his art with the reverence it deserves. Yes, the guy could be endlessly brutal and cruel, however, he's probably the most important artist of the 20th century. Without knowing that in advance, any reader of this book would put it down not knowing what a genius he was.
Want to read
April 27, 2011written like a soap-opera
April 4, 2018
This is no biography, it’s just a compelling trashy novel. Any real insights about Picasso’s life and it’s work have to be found somewhere else.
This book should come with a fact checker attached.
This book should come with a fact checker attached.
May 14, 2014
Got tired of reading about what a creep he was. Gave up.
June 11, 2017
I have never been especially interested in Picasso — neither as an artist, nor as a personality, so I chose this book quite randomly. The reading (listening) was VERY contradictory. The book is very well written, informative and emotional simultaneously, and the story overall looks more like an interesting novel (I actually permanently had a strong impression that I was listening to something like an adult version of “Howl’s Moving Castle”).
However, I hated the content )). WHAT A JERK PICASSO WAS!
At first, I was just “not interested” in his story and his personality, but considered it a commonplace thing. Lives of many famous people mostly consist of changing sexual partners and moving from town to town and drinking and trying drugs and hanging around with friends and so on. Great life for them, boring and empty for me.
Later, though, it became obvious that Picasso was an extremely mean and disgusting person, especially in relations with his friends, his women, and his children. His favorite entertainment was creating situations where people felt very awkward and unsettled. He adored scandals and always intentionally collided people against each other. During his life, he betrayed several of his friends, and one of this betrayal was lethal for this friend (he died in Nazi’s labor camp, while all his friends tried to release him, but Picasso, who was quite influential, just refused to do anything about it and just laughed about this mishap).
I’ll even quote from this part of the book, it’s very typical for Picasso:
“IN FEBRUARY of 1944, the same month that Picasso and Françoise set out haltingly on their journey together, Max Jacob was arrested at Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire and sent to the detention camp at Drancy, a stop on the long journey to Auschwitz or Dachau. On his way he wrote to Cocteau: “Dear Jean, I’m writing this on a train out of the kindness of the gendarmes who surround us. We will very soon be in Drancy. This is all I have to say. Sacha, when they talked to him about my sister, said: ‘If it was him, I could do something!’ Well, it is me. I embrace you. Max.” The restraint of his plea made his agony all the more poignant. From Drancy one last appeal reached his friends in Paris: “May Salmon, Picasso, Moricand do something for me.”
His friends had already begun to mobilize all the support they could find. Cocteau drew up a moving letter about Jacob, about the reverence in which he wes held by the French youth, about his invention of a new language that dominated French literature, about his renunciation of the world. And in a discreet postscript he added: “Max Jacob has been a Catholic for twenty years.” The appeal was personally delivered to von Rose, the counselor in charge of pardons and reprieves at the German embassy, who, miraculously, was a lover of poetry and an admirer of Jacob’s work. Conspicuously absent from the petition’s signatories was Picasso. His silence in behalf of one of his oldest and most intimate friends was thundering. When Pierre Colle, Jacob’s literary executor, went to the rue des Grands-Augustins to ask him to use his considerable authority with the Germans to intervene in Jacob’s behalf, he refused, crowning his indifference with a quip: “It is not worth doing anything at all. Max is a little devil. He doesn’t need our help to escape from prison.”
On March 6 von Rose announced that he had succeeded in obtaining a liberation order signed by the Gestapo, and a few of Jacob’s friends left immediately for Drancy. There they were informed that Jacob was dead. He had died the day before of pneumonia, fatally weakened by the conditions in prison and the freezing cold in his damp, filthy cell. The “little devil” had flown out of his prison through death. Did the Germans know that Jacob was dead when they signed the liberation order? Or was this a genuine reprieve that arrived too late? And would Picasso’s intervention have made a difference?”
He treated all his women like doormats (this term, “doormat,” is notoriously repetitive in the book). He was an abuser, a manipulator, and an everyday cheater. He left his children without support and love. It looks like he never had anything humane in him.
Add to this also his “love affair” with Communists, and a portrait of an abominable moron will be complete.
I can only wonder what he had in him that charmed other people and made them adore him and follow him, while he always mindlessly walked over them all and destroyed their lives if they were so careless as to hand them to him.
He was just a jerk, evil and disgusting. He made people suffer, especially the people that loved him and were emotionally and socially dependent on him, — and enjoyed their sufferings. All. His. Life.
I am not sure that I would ever be able to look at his art without this disgust… I believe that it is wrong to talk about “a genius” if the person is inherently evil. His life is part of his art as well as his art is part of his life. His “creative legacy” include not only pictures and sculptures but also sufferings and betrayals of many people — it would be useful to remember this.
However, I hated the content )). WHAT A JERK PICASSO WAS!
At first, I was just “not interested” in his story and his personality, but considered it a commonplace thing. Lives of many famous people mostly consist of changing sexual partners and moving from town to town and drinking and trying drugs and hanging around with friends and so on. Great life for them, boring and empty for me.
Later, though, it became obvious that Picasso was an extremely mean and disgusting person, especially in relations with his friends, his women, and his children. His favorite entertainment was creating situations where people felt very awkward and unsettled. He adored scandals and always intentionally collided people against each other. During his life, he betrayed several of his friends, and one of this betrayal was lethal for this friend (he died in Nazi’s labor camp, while all his friends tried to release him, but Picasso, who was quite influential, just refused to do anything about it and just laughed about this mishap).
I’ll even quote from this part of the book, it’s very typical for Picasso:
“IN FEBRUARY of 1944, the same month that Picasso and Françoise set out haltingly on their journey together, Max Jacob was arrested at Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire and sent to the detention camp at Drancy, a stop on the long journey to Auschwitz or Dachau. On his way he wrote to Cocteau: “Dear Jean, I’m writing this on a train out of the kindness of the gendarmes who surround us. We will very soon be in Drancy. This is all I have to say. Sacha, when they talked to him about my sister, said: ‘If it was him, I could do something!’ Well, it is me. I embrace you. Max.” The restraint of his plea made his agony all the more poignant. From Drancy one last appeal reached his friends in Paris: “May Salmon, Picasso, Moricand do something for me.”
His friends had already begun to mobilize all the support they could find. Cocteau drew up a moving letter about Jacob, about the reverence in which he wes held by the French youth, about his invention of a new language that dominated French literature, about his renunciation of the world. And in a discreet postscript he added: “Max Jacob has been a Catholic for twenty years.” The appeal was personally delivered to von Rose, the counselor in charge of pardons and reprieves at the German embassy, who, miraculously, was a lover of poetry and an admirer of Jacob’s work. Conspicuously absent from the petition’s signatories was Picasso. His silence in behalf of one of his oldest and most intimate friends was thundering. When Pierre Colle, Jacob’s literary executor, went to the rue des Grands-Augustins to ask him to use his considerable authority with the Germans to intervene in Jacob’s behalf, he refused, crowning his indifference with a quip: “It is not worth doing anything at all. Max is a little devil. He doesn’t need our help to escape from prison.”
On March 6 von Rose announced that he had succeeded in obtaining a liberation order signed by the Gestapo, and a few of Jacob’s friends left immediately for Drancy. There they were informed that Jacob was dead. He had died the day before of pneumonia, fatally weakened by the conditions in prison and the freezing cold in his damp, filthy cell. The “little devil” had flown out of his prison through death. Did the Germans know that Jacob was dead when they signed the liberation order? Or was this a genuine reprieve that arrived too late? And would Picasso’s intervention have made a difference?”
He treated all his women like doormats (this term, “doormat,” is notoriously repetitive in the book). He was an abuser, a manipulator, and an everyday cheater. He left his children without support and love. It looks like he never had anything humane in him.
Add to this also his “love affair” with Communists, and a portrait of an abominable moron will be complete.
I can only wonder what he had in him that charmed other people and made them adore him and follow him, while he always mindlessly walked over them all and destroyed their lives if they were so careless as to hand them to him.
He was just a jerk, evil and disgusting. He made people suffer, especially the people that loved him and were emotionally and socially dependent on him, — and enjoyed their sufferings. All. His. Life.
I am not sure that I would ever be able to look at his art without this disgust… I believe that it is wrong to talk about “a genius” if the person is inherently evil. His life is part of his art as well as his art is part of his life. His “creative legacy” include not only pictures and sculptures but also sufferings and betrayals of many people — it would be useful to remember this.
October 7, 2021
Here are my thoughts:
1.) All in all, a fantastic read. Written in an easy, conversational style, with lots of direct quotes, even actual in-person interviews with people who knew Picasso (the book came out in 1988) this book's circa 500 pages were a joy to sink into. I actually teared up at the end, when Picasso died.
2.) The main focus of the book is his personal life: lovers and friends. Thus, you are not going to get a lot of detail about his paintings, his critical reception, his thoughts on his development as a painter, etc. You get some of that stuff, but only in passing, when it's unavoidable. This is absolutely a "personal" biography, not a biography of his work or of him as an artist.
3.) Arianna Huffington makes her opinion of Picasso's treatment of his friends, family, and his endless womanizing, clear from the very beginning, and having read this book, it's hard not to agree with her dim view of his character. Some people might find that type of bias off-putting, but I think that's Huffington's interpretation and what she brings to the table. And I don't think it's unearned on Picasso's part. There are probably countless books that lift him up as a God of our time. I think it's worth taking a look at the pain and misery he left in his wake.
4.) This book is not going to make you come away with a real warm, fuzzy feeling about Picasso; however, Huffington does not attempt to tear down his legacy either. Has this book been written 25 years later, during the #metoo movement, I get the sense she might have pushed it that one step further. The overall sense you get from this book is of the life of a deeply flawed genius, in a time, place, and culture, indeed a lifestyle, that is so foreign to most of us, it might have taken place on another planet. Picasso became a living legend and lived, indeed created, many of the now-tired tropes we conceive of as the artists life: the Bohemian early years, the promiscuous & unconconvential lifestyle, the triumphant rise to fame and financial success that ultimately alienates him from the source of his creativity and true genius. Fame breaks some people. And the way it broke Picasso was by elevating him to the status of a god during his lifetime.
1.) All in all, a fantastic read. Written in an easy, conversational style, with lots of direct quotes, even actual in-person interviews with people who knew Picasso (the book came out in 1988) this book's circa 500 pages were a joy to sink into. I actually teared up at the end, when Picasso died.
2.) The main focus of the book is his personal life: lovers and friends. Thus, you are not going to get a lot of detail about his paintings, his critical reception, his thoughts on his development as a painter, etc. You get some of that stuff, but only in passing, when it's unavoidable. This is absolutely a "personal" biography, not a biography of his work or of him as an artist.
3.) Arianna Huffington makes her opinion of Picasso's treatment of his friends, family, and his endless womanizing, clear from the very beginning, and having read this book, it's hard not to agree with her dim view of his character. Some people might find that type of bias off-putting, but I think that's Huffington's interpretation and what she brings to the table. And I don't think it's unearned on Picasso's part. There are probably countless books that lift him up as a God of our time. I think it's worth taking a look at the pain and misery he left in his wake.
4.) This book is not going to make you come away with a real warm, fuzzy feeling about Picasso; however, Huffington does not attempt to tear down his legacy either. Has this book been written 25 years later, during the #metoo movement, I get the sense she might have pushed it that one step further. The overall sense you get from this book is of the life of a deeply flawed genius, in a time, place, and culture, indeed a lifestyle, that is so foreign to most of us, it might have taken place on another planet. Picasso became a living legend and lived, indeed created, many of the now-tired tropes we conceive of as the artists life: the Bohemian early years, the promiscuous & unconconvential lifestyle, the triumphant rise to fame and financial success that ultimately alienates him from the source of his creativity and true genius. Fame breaks some people. And the way it broke Picasso was by elevating him to the status of a god during his lifetime.
September 22, 2022
Oggi ti senti egoista? Una dose al giorno di questo libro e ti sentirai subito un santo!
Esprimo inoltre la mia suprema ammirazione per Françoise Gilot, sola e unica donna che riuscì a mandare affanculo il Maestro (non senza la tremenda e tardiva vendetta di lui -lo Scorpione non perdona) e, un gradino sotto, per Fernande Olivier che benché lasciata si riprese in fretta e scrisse un libro di memorie sul tratto di strada che fece con Picasso. Onori militari a tutte le altre, ai figli in toto e ai molti amici traditi, delusi, usati, che non si resero conto, o solo tardivamente, di essere rane con uno scorpione sulla schiena.
Per il resto è una buona biografia, con approfondimenti anche sull'opera del pittore nelle sue varie fasi (peccato non ci siano molte immagini) e, tutto sommato, nonostante le vicende che tratta, è riuscita a mantenersi abbastanza equanime, non nel senso di oggettiva - la stessa Gilot aveva consigliato all'autrice di mettersi in rapporto diretto con Picasso, di eliminare il più possibile la distanza tra sé e il suo "oggetto d'analisi", per cui si vede in molti passi lo sforzo della Stassinopoulos di immedesimarsi nei demoni, nelle angosce, nelle superstizioni, negli altalenanti umori di una persona sicuramente difficile, per non dire impossibile, da capire: sia se non sei lui, sia soprattutto se non sei come lui. Sine ira nec metu.
Esprimo inoltre la mia suprema ammirazione per Françoise Gilot, sola e unica donna che riuscì a mandare affanculo il Maestro (non senza la tremenda e tardiva vendetta di lui -lo Scorpione non perdona) e, un gradino sotto, per Fernande Olivier che benché lasciata si riprese in fretta e scrisse un libro di memorie sul tratto di strada che fece con Picasso. Onori militari a tutte le altre, ai figli in toto e ai molti amici traditi, delusi, usati, che non si resero conto, o solo tardivamente, di essere rane con uno scorpione sulla schiena.
Per il resto è una buona biografia, con approfondimenti anche sull'opera del pittore nelle sue varie fasi (peccato non ci siano molte immagini) e, tutto sommato, nonostante le vicende che tratta, è riuscita a mantenersi abbastanza equanime, non nel senso di oggettiva - la stessa Gilot aveva consigliato all'autrice di mettersi in rapporto diretto con Picasso, di eliminare il più possibile la distanza tra sé e il suo "oggetto d'analisi", per cui si vede in molti passi lo sforzo della Stassinopoulos di immedesimarsi nei demoni, nelle angosce, nelle superstizioni, negli altalenanti umori di una persona sicuramente difficile, per non dire impossibile, da capire: sia se non sei lui, sia soprattutto se non sei come lui. Sine ira nec metu.
June 1, 2023
the arianna huffingtton book on picasso is frankly a bit dull - picasso has a bleak pessimistic black metal view of the world, he treats the women in his life badly (in the age of me too he would probably have ended up painting in jail) and he is getting old and the few people he does love (or who genuinely love him) are dying off.
and despite all this it is dull. (being a minotaur is very boring).
francine is blodeuwedd
this is a discovery francine and picasso make. later they find an owl chick and picasso adopts it. they look good together picasso and the owl.
it is worthwhile remembering that before they became bespectacled and bookish owls were considered birds of ill omen and connected with witchcraft.
picasso spends a lot of time being photographed with animals but, like his women and children, they are soon discarded.
picasso was a terrible person. and yet the art is great. go figure.
there is a book of the pottery (from his daughter's collection) and the assemblages and a book of the engravings.
and then picasso is dead. his death will be attended by other deaths - retainers going to serve him in the afterlife (it's all a bit grim).
and despite all this it is dull. (being a minotaur is very boring).
francine is blodeuwedd
this is a discovery francine and picasso make. later they find an owl chick and picasso adopts it. they look good together picasso and the owl.
it is worthwhile remembering that before they became bespectacled and bookish owls were considered birds of ill omen and connected with witchcraft.
picasso spends a lot of time being photographed with animals but, like his women and children, they are soon discarded.
picasso was a terrible person. and yet the art is great. go figure.
there is a book of the pottery (from his daughter's collection) and the assemblages and a book of the engravings.
and then picasso is dead. his death will be attended by other deaths - retainers going to serve him in the afterlife (it's all a bit grim).
May 13, 2017
According to this bio, Picasso was a world class misogynistic jerk. A fair bio, but one that presented that he was an uncaring communist who neglected the women in his life and turned his back on his many children, legit and illegitimate.
The weakness of this bio is that the bio jumps from quick to quick to different stages of his life without bridging over from the previous chapter. New people are entered into the bio without too much explanation, old people dropped with the same and it was apparent that a great deal of info lacking. His movement in the Communist party was discussed, but barely.
Overall, an OK bio.
The weakness of this bio is that the bio jumps from quick to quick to different stages of his life without bridging over from the previous chapter. New people are entered into the bio without too much explanation, old people dropped with the same and it was apparent that a great deal of info lacking. His movement in the Communist party was discussed, but barely.
Overall, an OK bio.
July 22, 2018
You have no idea how long I've had this book on my shelf...I could hardly believe it myself! Picasso was one of those characters that you couldn't even dream of as a writer. His many love affairs were as dramatic as King Henry VIII's without the hangings. He brought the word crotchety to a whole new level...After watching a documentary about his life and art at an art film festival, I decided to tackle this tome. The author may not be an expert on Picasso but I thought she wrote a decent book. I enjoyed the flow of the biography and yes it did read like a novel. In my humble opinion, that always works for me!
February 8, 2025
I’m not qualified to judge Picasso’s art, but certainly concur with how the title characterizes this emotionally (and sometimes physically) abusive narcissist who treated the people who cared for him as game pieces to be moved about for his pleasure. The title notwithstanding, the author lets you reach that conclusion for yourself, with a careful and always fascinating accumulation of the facts of an interesting - and awful, never forget awful - life.
August 5, 2018
I gave this a 4-star review because I thought it was well written. It details the life of Picasso and appeared to handled fairly. I was never a big fan of his work but understood it might be good to understand the life of someone who made such an impact on the art world. After hearing the way he lived and treated people, I will be honest and say I will never be able to appreciate his work.
January 10, 2022
This book was well written, and appears to be meticulously researched. I can’t give it more than three stars because it’s such a downer. Picasso seems like he was a pretty awful person. I’m surprised at how many books there are written about him, and I will read others to see if I get the same impression of him that I got from this book.
March 25, 2023
This book has just enough value to offer readers, but be warned, Huffington seems to despise Picasso as a human being and focuses most of her attention on him personally, not artistically. This can have value if you balance it with more objective writing regarding Picasso's work, but this should NOT be a starting point.
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