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A Life of Picasso #2
A Life of Picasso II: The Cubist Rebel: 1907-1916
In the second volume of his Life of Picasso , Richardson reveals the young Picasso in the Baudelairean role of “the painter of modern life.” Never before have Picasso’s revolutionary vision, technical versatility, prodigious achievements, and, not least, his sardonic humor been analyzed with such clarity.
Hence his great breakthrough painting, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon , with which this book opens. As well as portraying Picasso as a revolutionary, Richardson analyzes the more compassionate side of his genius. The misogynist of posthumous legend turns out to have been surprisingly vulnerable—more often sinned against than sinning. Heartbroken at the death of his mistress Eva, Picasso tried desperately to find a wife. Richardson recounts the untold story of how his two great loves of 1915–17 successively turned him down. These disappointments, as well as his horror at the outbreak of World War I and the wounds it inflicted on his closest friends, Braque and Apollinaire, shadowed his painting and drove him off to work for the Ballets Russes in Rome and Naples—back to the ancient world.
In this volume we see the artist’s life and work during the crucial decade of 1907–17, a period during which Picasso and Georges Braque devised what has come to be known as cubism and in doing so engendered modernism. Thanks to the author’s friendship with Picasso and some of the women in his life, as well as Braque and their dealer, D. H. Kahnweiler, and other associates, he has had access to untapped sources and unpublished material. In The Cubist Rebel, Richardson also introduces us to key figures in Picasso’s life who have been totally overlooked by previous biographers. Among these are the artist’s Chilean patron, collector, and mother figure, Eugenia Errázuriz, as well as two fiancé the loveable Geneviève Laporte and the promiscuous bisexual painter Irène Lagut.
By harnessing biography to art history, he has managed to crack the code of cubism more successfully than any of his predecessors. And by bringing fresh light to bear on the artist’s private life, he has succeeded in coming up with a new view of this paradoxical man and of his paradoxical work. Never before have Picasso’s revolutionary vision, technical versatility, prodigious achievements, and, not least, his sardonic humor been analyzed with such clarity.
Hence his great breakthrough painting, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon , with which this book opens. As well as portraying Picasso as a revolutionary, Richardson analyzes the more compassionate side of his genius. The misogynist of posthumous legend turns out to have been surprisingly vulnerable—more often sinned against than sinning. Heartbroken at the death of his mistress Eva, Picasso tried desperately to find a wife. Richardson recounts the untold story of how his two great loves of 1915–17 successively turned him down. These disappointments, as well as his horror at the outbreak of World War I and the wounds it inflicted on his closest friends, Braque and Apollinaire, shadowed his painting and drove him off to work for the Ballets Russes in Rome and Naples—back to the ancient world.
In this volume we see the artist’s life and work during the crucial decade of 1907–17, a period during which Picasso and Georges Braque devised what has come to be known as cubism and in doing so engendered modernism. Thanks to the author’s friendship with Picasso and some of the women in his life, as well as Braque and their dealer, D. H. Kahnweiler, and other associates, he has had access to untapped sources and unpublished material. In The Cubist Rebel, Richardson also introduces us to key figures in Picasso’s life who have been totally overlooked by previous biographers. Among these are the artist’s Chilean patron, collector, and mother figure, Eugenia Errázuriz, as well as two fiancé the loveable Geneviève Laporte and the promiscuous bisexual painter Irène Lagut.
By harnessing biography to art history, he has managed to crack the code of cubism more successfully than any of his predecessors. And by bringing fresh light to bear on the artist’s private life, he has succeeded in coming up with a new view of this paradoxical man and of his paradoxical work. Never before have Picasso’s revolutionary vision, technical versatility, prodigious achievements, and, not least, his sardonic humor been analyzed with such clarity.
512 pages, Paperback
First published November 5, 1996
33 people are currently reading
837 people want to read
About the author
John Richardson
38 books63 followersSir John Patrick Richardson, KBE, was a British art historian and Picasso biographer. The elder son of Sir Wodehouse Richardson, he was sent to board at two successive schools after his father's death in 1929. When he was thirteen he became a boarder at Stowe school, where he admired the architecture and landscape and was taught something about the work of Picasso and other innovative painters. After bring invalided out of the army in the Second World War, he worked in London as an industrial designer and became friends with the painters Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.
In 1949 Richardson met the art historian and collector Douglas Cooper and the two began a relationship that would last ten years. In 1952, he moved with Cooper to Provence, where he met a number of artists, including Pablo Picasso. In 1960, Richardson left Cooper and moved to New York, where he worked in the art world until retiring in 1980 to concentrate full time on writing. The first volume of his biography of Picasso was published in 1991, with subsequent volumes published in 1996 and 2007. In 2012, Richardson was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his services to art.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
In 1949 Richardson met the art historian and collector Douglas Cooper and the two began a relationship that would last ten years. In 1952, he moved with Cooper to Provence, where he met a number of artists, including Pablo Picasso. In 1960, Richardson left Cooper and moved to New York, where he worked in the art world until retiring in 1980 to concentrate full time on writing. The first volume of his biography of Picasso was published in 1991, with subsequent volumes published in 1996 and 2007. In 2012, Richardson was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his services to art.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
January 6, 2018
It took me a while to finish this one, but it's definitely worth the read. It's interesting how John Richardson sees Picasso as the incarnation of Baudelaire's 'the Painter of Modern Life'.
July 3, 2019
This book is the second of three volumes of the artist's life. The first one traced his early life and this one continues as Picasso becomes entrenched in the Parisian Bohemian world, surrounding himself with artists, poets, writers, and in the last chapters,the ballet.
These years largely concentrate around Picasso's cubist works and his relationship with other cubist artists, especially Braque.
We also learn about his tempestuous love affairs, leaving off one, another one dying, and yet others who abandon him.
This is also the Great War years, where many of his colleagues joined in the fight, while Picasso, belonging to a neutral country, stayed out. He also chose to stay out of Paris for most of the war years to avoid the humiliation of a woman handing him a white feather, which the ladies of Paris were offering to all the men who refused to go to the front.
This volume ends just as Picasso is becoming involved with Diaghilev's Ballet troupe, creating sets, collaborating with Eric Satie, whom he admired, and Jean Cocteau, whom he loathed.
We are just introduced to the ballerina Olga Khokhlova, whom Picasso will eventually marry, when the volume rather abruptly ends.
These years largely concentrate around Picasso's cubist works and his relationship with other cubist artists, especially Braque.
We also learn about his tempestuous love affairs, leaving off one, another one dying, and yet others who abandon him.
This is also the Great War years, where many of his colleagues joined in the fight, while Picasso, belonging to a neutral country, stayed out. He also chose to stay out of Paris for most of the war years to avoid the humiliation of a woman handing him a white feather, which the ladies of Paris were offering to all the men who refused to go to the front.
This volume ends just as Picasso is becoming involved with Diaghilev's Ballet troupe, creating sets, collaborating with Eric Satie, whom he admired, and Jean Cocteau, whom he loathed.
We are just introduced to the ballerina Olga Khokhlova, whom Picasso will eventually marry, when the volume rather abruptly ends.
August 12, 2025
If Volume 1 was the fever dream of Picasso becoming Picasso, Volume 2 was where the temperature spiked. I was still marooned in that jaundice-yellow haze in June 2013 — my eyes matching Van Gogh’s sunflowers, my diet reduced to broth and occasional dry toast — when Richardson’s second volume slid into my hands.
This one covered 1907 to 1917, a decade in which Picasso essentially declared war on painting as it had been known for centuries.
Richardson opens with the Demoiselles d’Avignon and never looks back. The scandal, the angular violence of the figures, the way Picasso tossed Renaissance perspective into the shredder — it all made sense in my woozy state. Fever does funny things to perception, and so does Cubism. The book walks you through how African masks, Iberian sculpture, and Cézanne’s stubborn geometry all collided in Picasso’s mind until something new — unsettling, exhilarating — emerged.
What I loved was how Richardson doesn’t just describe the paintings; he tells you about the café arguments, the studio clutter, the poet friends (Apollinaire’s shadow is everywhere), and the rivalries with Matisse. It’s art history as lived reality, full of cigarette smoke, debt, and stubborn self-belief.
My own confinement gave the pace of the book a strange intimacy. Reading about the chaos of Paris during wartime, about Picasso’s entanglement with ballet through Diaghilev and Cocteau, I felt oddly tethered to the idea that art happens even in turbulence.
Outside my window in 2013, the world kept spinning without me; inside these pages, Paris kept spinning too, but Picasso danced right in the middle of it.
Richardson also nails the contradictions — Picasso the workaholic versus Picasso the restless experimenter, Picasso the charmer versus Picasso the manipulator.
The decade ends with a surprising tonal shift: his marriage to Olga Khokhlova and a move into a more neoclassical phase. Richardson frames it less as “selling out” and more as another transformation, the kind of pivot that keeps a creative life from calcifying.
By the time I closed Volume 2, I felt the same mix of admiration and irritation I always get with Picasso. He’s exhausting, but he’s never boring.
And maybe that’s why I tore through the rest of the series, fevers and all — because in a bedbound month where my own world was narrowed to four walls, it was a relief to inhabit the brain of someone who refused to stay still for even a second.
This one covered 1907 to 1917, a decade in which Picasso essentially declared war on painting as it had been known for centuries.
Richardson opens with the Demoiselles d’Avignon and never looks back. The scandal, the angular violence of the figures, the way Picasso tossed Renaissance perspective into the shredder — it all made sense in my woozy state. Fever does funny things to perception, and so does Cubism. The book walks you through how African masks, Iberian sculpture, and Cézanne’s stubborn geometry all collided in Picasso’s mind until something new — unsettling, exhilarating — emerged.
What I loved was how Richardson doesn’t just describe the paintings; he tells you about the café arguments, the studio clutter, the poet friends (Apollinaire’s shadow is everywhere), and the rivalries with Matisse. It’s art history as lived reality, full of cigarette smoke, debt, and stubborn self-belief.
My own confinement gave the pace of the book a strange intimacy. Reading about the chaos of Paris during wartime, about Picasso’s entanglement with ballet through Diaghilev and Cocteau, I felt oddly tethered to the idea that art happens even in turbulence.
Outside my window in 2013, the world kept spinning without me; inside these pages, Paris kept spinning too, but Picasso danced right in the middle of it.
Richardson also nails the contradictions — Picasso the workaholic versus Picasso the restless experimenter, Picasso the charmer versus Picasso the manipulator.
The decade ends with a surprising tonal shift: his marriage to Olga Khokhlova and a move into a more neoclassical phase. Richardson frames it less as “selling out” and more as another transformation, the kind of pivot that keeps a creative life from calcifying.
By the time I closed Volume 2, I felt the same mix of admiration and irritation I always get with Picasso. He’s exhausting, but he’s never boring.
And maybe that’s why I tore through the rest of the series, fevers and all — because in a bedbound month where my own world was narrowed to four walls, it was a relief to inhabit the brain of someone who refused to stay still for even a second.
June 25, 2011
Really masterful... a more difficult book than vol I - but the topic is more difficult. Richardson's account is eye-opening -- his portraits and sympathetic admiration for Braque and Apollinaire, in particular, is infectious -- his negative views of Gertrude Stein, Cocteau, Gris, and many others..., persuasive -- the sad account of Eva, the portraits of the many women in this period of Picasso's life -- including Fernande - his always clear view of both the genius and charisma and the warts as well of his protagonist -- and his account of the structure and purpose and development of cubism -- are all handled brilliantly. Quite a book! If vol 3 is as good is vols I and II..., well, let's hold off judgement for now....
May 28, 2019
Wow, John Richardson writes the hell out of this book, and with exhaustive authority.
He details peccadilloes, cliques, and grudges in the "Circus of Picasso" and prosecutes some of his own, picking on Jean Cocteau ruthlessly (I'd be curious to read more to see if this is warranted).
There were parts I intended to skim, about gallerists and patrons and the market, but found fascinating and read every word. Richardson delves into the personal but also excels in analyzing the art of Picasso and his peers.
Profusely illustrated, sadly only in black and white. If you have Pinterest handy you will find it a useful adjunct for illustrations and side-research.
Just 4 stars because of glaring design blunders. Type is simply too small and leading too stingy. To compound this, the inside margins are insufficient so you are reading too close to spine of book, with resulting eye strain from curving lines of text and shadows. Happily, Volume 3, which is nearby waiting for me, seems much improved in this aspect.
He details peccadilloes, cliques, and grudges in the "Circus of Picasso" and prosecutes some of his own, picking on Jean Cocteau ruthlessly (I'd be curious to read more to see if this is warranted).
There were parts I intended to skim, about gallerists and patrons and the market, but found fascinating and read every word. Richardson delves into the personal but also excels in analyzing the art of Picasso and his peers.
Profusely illustrated, sadly only in black and white. If you have Pinterest handy you will find it a useful adjunct for illustrations and side-research.
Just 4 stars because of glaring design blunders. Type is simply too small and leading too stingy. To compound this, the inside margins are insufficient so you are reading too close to spine of book, with resulting eye strain from curving lines of text and shadows. Happily, Volume 3, which is nearby waiting for me, seems much improved in this aspect.
May 5, 2013
I have four points to make.
First, "A Life of Picasso" amazingly fleshes out, through foibles and fantastic behaviors, the human beings who make up that mythologized time. Apollinaire steps down into human frailty, Cocteau reveals himself as someone I would not like, Braque emerges as someone I would want to be, and Matisse becomes again a vague, removed specter of giantness (no matter what I learn about him, always this.) The women, especially Fernand, also live and breathe, but after a while they become a blended type. I suspect this was because of Picasso's restricted understanding of women. Even Gertrude Stein steps down out of her portrait (Picasso was wrong, she never became what he painted.) I loved every vignette. Which leads me to points Two and Three:
So, Point Two: Picasso himself seems absent. He is like the center of a vortex. Everything spins about him, but his actual self is not there. I found this very curious, because Volume One held him so firmly and prominently in sight.
Point Three: Every paragraph, and each was nearly the same in length and style as every other paragraph, seemed to serve as a monograph on either a particular event surrounding the astonishing paintings (Picasso's and others,) or of someone in his circle. It got dull in parts, but only in the reading. The information in each paragraph was stunning. But it was like spending time only with sequential "cubist" paintings, about which this volume focuses: you go in interested, certain you grasp what is conveyed, but then all of the planes and facts begin crashing in the brain like too much code for the RAM. Eventually you lose focus, though not curiosity. It was a weird trip.
Fourth: It feels complete except for the absence of Picasso. It is invaluable not just for its details, but for its portraiture. Masterful. I feel like I know all of these people, in a way as though I was in their time rather them being brought into mine. The only one, again, that I missed was the artist himself.
Not just an important book, but a necessary one. I learned so much about a subject I thought I already knew much about.
First, "A Life of Picasso" amazingly fleshes out, through foibles and fantastic behaviors, the human beings who make up that mythologized time. Apollinaire steps down into human frailty, Cocteau reveals himself as someone I would not like, Braque emerges as someone I would want to be, and Matisse becomes again a vague, removed specter of giantness (no matter what I learn about him, always this.) The women, especially Fernand, also live and breathe, but after a while they become a blended type. I suspect this was because of Picasso's restricted understanding of women. Even Gertrude Stein steps down out of her portrait (Picasso was wrong, she never became what he painted.) I loved every vignette. Which leads me to points Two and Three:
So, Point Two: Picasso himself seems absent. He is like the center of a vortex. Everything spins about him, but his actual self is not there. I found this very curious, because Volume One held him so firmly and prominently in sight.
Point Three: Every paragraph, and each was nearly the same in length and style as every other paragraph, seemed to serve as a monograph on either a particular event surrounding the astonishing paintings (Picasso's and others,) or of someone in his circle. It got dull in parts, but only in the reading. The information in each paragraph was stunning. But it was like spending time only with sequential "cubist" paintings, about which this volume focuses: you go in interested, certain you grasp what is conveyed, but then all of the planes and facts begin crashing in the brain like too much code for the RAM. Eventually you lose focus, though not curiosity. It was a weird trip.
Fourth: It feels complete except for the absence of Picasso. It is invaluable not just for its details, but for its portraiture. Masterful. I feel like I know all of these people, in a way as though I was in their time rather them being brought into mine. The only one, again, that I missed was the artist himself.
Not just an important book, but a necessary one. I learned so much about a subject I thought I already knew much about.
December 21, 2017
This second volume starts with Cezanne’s Death, the painting Demoiselles d’Avignon, and then covers the Cubist Years with Braque and Picasso taking ideas from each other, while the other painters have trouble successfully adopting Cubism. During this time Picasso puts behind representational art seeing himself as “a painter who was out to cannibalize the art of the past and remake it in his own image.” The book shows where Picasso got his ideas from unusual sources, such as Vesalius’s obscure medical textbooks and the like. Cubism was for Picasso, a reaction against impressionism. “It followed that if the artist was ever ‘to take full passion of things’, he must be able to represent an object from any number of viewpoints at the same time. It is a complete reversal of the time-honored system of establishing a distance and making objects recede from us. In the same way, faceting allowed the artist (much as it does a man who cuts gemstones) to use refracted light to give his surfaces a generalized sparkle.”
Picasso found it hard to introduce strong color into his cubism because of the difficulty of “reconciling color with the cubist concepts of form.” He did however introduce shiny Ripolin on his canvases instead of only oil paint. Picasso said, “Art is a lie that helps us understand the truth.” As in Volume One, most of the book explains in crazy detail every vacation spot Picasso ever goes to, which friend, wife or mistress was with him and who or what was annoying him. If he signs a contract or fights with a dealer, it will be in this book. Rarely will John tell you what Picasso loved, or thought was great; instead we are left to guess Picasso was highly critical of all Art not his own, unable to ever be alone, and able to change opinions at will. This volume covers both Picasso’s “African” Period and his Cubist period. There are lots of great Picasso pieces in this book, however, unless you buy the Hardcover, everything pictured is black and white, so that you will be constantly on the internet looking for each Picasso painting under discussion in actual color. 500 pages.
Picasso found it hard to introduce strong color into his cubism because of the difficulty of “reconciling color with the cubist concepts of form.” He did however introduce shiny Ripolin on his canvases instead of only oil paint. Picasso said, “Art is a lie that helps us understand the truth.” As in Volume One, most of the book explains in crazy detail every vacation spot Picasso ever goes to, which friend, wife or mistress was with him and who or what was annoying him. If he signs a contract or fights with a dealer, it will be in this book. Rarely will John tell you what Picasso loved, or thought was great; instead we are left to guess Picasso was highly critical of all Art not his own, unable to ever be alone, and able to change opinions at will. This volume covers both Picasso’s “African” Period and his Cubist period. There are lots of great Picasso pieces in this book, however, unless you buy the Hardcover, everything pictured is black and white, so that you will be constantly on the internet looking for each Picasso painting under discussion in actual color. 500 pages.
April 12, 2008
Richardson continues his monumental biography of Picasso in this second volume with sustained accomplishment and encyclopedia mastery of subject and stage. The secondary characters are numerous: Fernande, his long term mistress, Eva, his near wife, Braque, his Cubist wife/husband, Matisse, Apollinaire, Derain, Cocteau, Satie, Rousseau, Leger, Max Jacob, Marie Laurencin, Stein and Toklas, Modigliani, Juan Gris, Diego Rivera, and many other artists, models, mistresses, dealers, patrons, writers, hangers-on. Richardson handles the volume and range of characters and events deftly, so that even characters who appear only briefly, say Beatrice Hastings, are compelling and provoke interest to investigate their life and work. As the subtitle underscores, this volume takes Picasso from his primitive, tribal-mask influenced period—volume one culminated with Demoiselles d’Avignon—through his creation with Braque of cubism. Richardson separates Picasso and Braque from other cubist painters, as they did themselves, who they viewed as too theoretical and mathematical. Picasso and Braque worked so closely together and were so of one mind with this revolution in painting that perhaps they didn’t need to tell each other what was behind their experimentation just share their work with each other. I did not follow all the discussion of the development of cubism and differences between the Paris factions but found Richardson’s retrospective discussion near the volume’s end, supported by two illuminating sketches from 1914 and 1915, each called “Seated Man,” very clarifying. There are a couple of dry patches in the book, chapters dealing with collectors and dealers, but for the most part the book is brilliant, frank, and very enjoyable for its illumination of Picasso the artist and infant terrible, its insight into this incredible time and place, and its restrained but nonetheless juicy gossip. I can’t wait for volume three (and may not) to come out in paperback or for the remaining volumes to be published.
December 9, 2009
i really enjoyed this one- it was better than the first volume because picasso is at a much more interesting point in his life now. i would recommend this book if you have any interest in picasso and/or the art/literature scene in paris during this period. this book is definitely readable which is impressive considering the amount of information packed into this work. my number one favorite aspect of this book however was being able to see his works on view at the moma while reading this. it definitely added a whole extra component to the book and made it become much more alive. especially since the "story" the moma curators are telling within the permanent exhibition match up excellently with richardson's book. for example, a matisse and picasso work are positioned side by side in the book for comparison are also placed beside one another on the fifth floor of the moma. my only major complaint with the book is the book is there are no color illustrations. hopefully in the future an edition will be printed with all or most of the 700+ illustrations in color.
January 28, 2021
Compared to the first volume, I found this book slightly scattered, jumpy, and loose. This isn't a negative criticism exactly... I actually felt like it, intentionally or not, helped capture the frantic, pressurized period of Picasso's life. It helped in the nearly impossible task of discussing cubism and the non-verbal restructuring of the artistic eye that he and Braque accomplished. My interest in and appreciation of these works soared, and the book, full of sketches and preparatory drawings has provided the best overall access to synthetic, and especially analytic cubism I have ever encountered. Just incredibly exciting to open oneself up to it.
Paradoxically, the personal dramas and cast of supporting characters (though many famous names) was dizzying and confusing and I found myself glossing over some of that as if it was gossip, or genealogy.
Paradoxically, the personal dramas and cast of supporting characters (though many famous names) was dizzying and confusing and I found myself glossing over some of that as if it was gossip, or genealogy.
September 26, 2021
The first volume may have taken me 17 years to read, but this one only took between 4 and 5. Again, it was never because I was bored. These Richardson books make it easy to dip in for a few pages and then come out again. I am always able to pick up the strain where I left off.
This is the volume that begins with Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1907 and moves through cubism, then ends with Picasso about to move into classism (or his version of it). It is a tremendously active period, and all happening while Europe fell apart for the first time. Again Richardson is great with the stories of characters, both major and minor, in Picasso's life. He makes each one a sketch, sometimes short, sometimes quite lengthy. He is good with the historical moments and with the geography in Paris and beyond that Picasso moved through.
But Richardson is also very good discussing the art and the technique and the need for the modernist experiments. For instance, amid all the very good, even great, discussions of cubism, he has this coming off Roger Allard: "cubism was a means of registering 'mass, volume and weight.' Henceforth everything had to be tactile and palpable, not least space, Palpability made for reality, and it was the real rather than the realistic that Picasso was out to capture." This opens up so much! I mean, think of the "gestural" art of the abstract expressionists -- that's all coming from this understanding.
If I were to criticize these first two volumes, it would be about the lack of color illustrations. These volumes are rich in well-reproduced art, but nothing in color. I see that in Vol III that will change, and I wonder if there will be even more in the posthumous Vol. IV, due in November of this year. I look forward to it. It is great to realize that even after 21 years, I am only half way through this wonderful biography.
This is the volume that begins with Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1907 and moves through cubism, then ends with Picasso about to move into classism (or his version of it). It is a tremendously active period, and all happening while Europe fell apart for the first time. Again Richardson is great with the stories of characters, both major and minor, in Picasso's life. He makes each one a sketch, sometimes short, sometimes quite lengthy. He is good with the historical moments and with the geography in Paris and beyond that Picasso moved through.
But Richardson is also very good discussing the art and the technique and the need for the modernist experiments. For instance, amid all the very good, even great, discussions of cubism, he has this coming off Roger Allard: "cubism was a means of registering 'mass, volume and weight.' Henceforth everything had to be tactile and palpable, not least space, Palpability made for reality, and it was the real rather than the realistic that Picasso was out to capture." This opens up so much! I mean, think of the "gestural" art of the abstract expressionists -- that's all coming from this understanding.
If I were to criticize these first two volumes, it would be about the lack of color illustrations. These volumes are rich in well-reproduced art, but nothing in color. I see that in Vol III that will change, and I wonder if there will be even more in the posthumous Vol. IV, due in November of this year. I look forward to it. It is great to realize that even after 21 years, I am only half way through this wonderful biography.
October 15, 2020
Kurzer Auszug a.d. viel längeren Rezension m. Links u. Hintergründen i. m. Blog:
Fazit:
John Richardson erzählt recht leger, oft sarkastisch, meinungsfreudig und immer kurzweilig – nie wird er blasiert, langatmig, professoral. Richardson setzt kulturgeschichtliches Wissen sowie Fremdsprachenkenntnisse voraus. Weil Richardson ab den 1950er Jahren ein Freund der Picassos war, aber auch dank seinem Rechercheteam kann er viele neue Interna zutagefördern, auch neue Fotos. Richardson interpretiert intensiv und kommt dabei oft auf Sexuelles und Picassos Gefährtinnen. Der Rückumschlag von Band I sagt ebenso werblich wie zutreffend: "…magnificiently combines meticulous scholarship with irresistable narrative appeal".
Richardson bewundert viele Schöpfungen und wohl auch den Geschäftssinn Picassos, jedoch nicht den Menschen. Der Biograf stellt auch viele Wegbegleiter ausführlich vor – immer wieder auch mit deftigem Klatsch. Es gibt viele Abbildungen, zumeist jedoch nur recht klein und in Schwarzweiß, in guter Qualität (je nach Ausgabe).
Fazit:
John Richardson erzählt recht leger, oft sarkastisch, meinungsfreudig und immer kurzweilig – nie wird er blasiert, langatmig, professoral. Richardson setzt kulturgeschichtliches Wissen sowie Fremdsprachenkenntnisse voraus. Weil Richardson ab den 1950er Jahren ein Freund der Picassos war, aber auch dank seinem Rechercheteam kann er viele neue Interna zutagefördern, auch neue Fotos. Richardson interpretiert intensiv und kommt dabei oft auf Sexuelles und Picassos Gefährtinnen. Der Rückumschlag von Band I sagt ebenso werblich wie zutreffend: "…magnificiently combines meticulous scholarship with irresistable narrative appeal".
Richardson bewundert viele Schöpfungen und wohl auch den Geschäftssinn Picassos, jedoch nicht den Menschen. Der Biograf stellt auch viele Wegbegleiter ausführlich vor – immer wieder auch mit deftigem Klatsch. Es gibt viele Abbildungen, zumeist jedoch nur recht klein und in Schwarzweiß, in guter Qualität (je nach Ausgabe).
September 26, 2025
As with the first volume, it is nearly impossible to write biography better than this. Helps the amateur (me) to understand the development and logic of cubism while also making it clear just how complex and rich that story is. Leaves no stone unturned in terms of corroborating detail but exceptional at character studies of WW1 Paris. Would say his desire to be objective falls totally short occasionally - is critical and honest about Picasso but is equally condemnatory of e.g. Gertrude Stein for being mildly annoying!
September 30, 2019
Lo único malo de esta biografía es la ligera romantización y mirada demasiado amable del carácter abusivo y profundamente machista de Picasso. Por no mencionar la estúpida frase recurrente de "el machismo típicamente andaluz..."El resto, que es la gran mayoría, es fantástico. Picasso entregó por completo su vida al arte, algo que pagaría él mismo y aquellos a su alrededor.
May 20, 2020
Wonderful. Richardson continues the great work he started in volume 1. You get the big picture along with the up-close-and-personal stuff; Richardson was a a great synthesizer as well as a longtime friend of Picasso's.
In spite of all the hundreds of pictures included in the text, I still kept my iPad close so that I could see some of them in full color.
In spite of all the hundreds of pictures included in the text, I still kept my iPad close so that I could see some of them in full color.
September 15, 2021
What can I say, brilliant again........
September 29, 2022
The ego has landed
My goodness Picasso was a self-loving poseur! Just look at the cock-sure stance he adopts in the cover photo. This image, in which his clothing itself appears rather cubist (both in the odd patchwork cut, and the choice of different textures and patterns of fabric) is one of a series of self-portraits he took in his own various studios. Some of which, such as those where he's stripped down to nought but pants (I wouldn't be at all surprised if he photographed himself au naturel) are far more narcissistic.
The physically pint-sized Picasso incontestably remains a giant of modern art, but he still manages to make himself look rather ridiculous in several of these photographic self-portraits. But surely his volcanic ego must have been part of what helped him to become such a great artist? His belief in his own greatness is certainly very tangible, both in his work, and in these odd photos, a fair number of which Richardson includes here.
In this second instalment of Richardson's epic biography, we're focussed on just one decade, 1907-17, essentially the era of Cubism. The period when Picasso made the transition form starving bohemian to rich and successful avant-gardist. But Picasso being who and what he is, it's so much more than just one style or phase.
Firstly there's the Parade (pardon the artsy pun) of interesting characters he mixes with, from his mistresses to his art dealers, and of course fellow artists, some of whom, like Braque in particular, he has a particularly direct connection with, whereas others, such as the writer/intellectual types, e.g. Appollinaire, Salmon and Cocteau, he has very involved but more oblique lines of communication with.
And further still, even one style turns out in fact to be a multiplicity of rich diversity, with Cubism being a vastly oversimplifying label applied to period that has generated numerous subdivisions ('analytic' or 'synthetic' cubism, for example), and whose tenets he might completely abandon at any given moment, as he does when he adopts a much more obviously traditional neo-classicist mode.
Richardson's first volume was, for me, a little more fun, covering as it did a longer and more varied period. I think I also find the formative years of many artists - I've certainly found this to be true of a lot of the musicians that I've read and/or written about - the most fascinating. But this is just as well done, and this period of Picasso's Vesusvian output deserves the close focus he gives it. Can't wait to get stuck into volume III!
My goodness Picasso was a self-loving poseur! Just look at the cock-sure stance he adopts in the cover photo. This image, in which his clothing itself appears rather cubist (both in the odd patchwork cut, and the choice of different textures and patterns of fabric) is one of a series of self-portraits he took in his own various studios. Some of which, such as those where he's stripped down to nought but pants (I wouldn't be at all surprised if he photographed himself au naturel) are far more narcissistic.
The physically pint-sized Picasso incontestably remains a giant of modern art, but he still manages to make himself look rather ridiculous in several of these photographic self-portraits. But surely his volcanic ego must have been part of what helped him to become such a great artist? His belief in his own greatness is certainly very tangible, both in his work, and in these odd photos, a fair number of which Richardson includes here.
In this second instalment of Richardson's epic biography, we're focussed on just one decade, 1907-17, essentially the era of Cubism. The period when Picasso made the transition form starving bohemian to rich and successful avant-gardist. But Picasso being who and what he is, it's so much more than just one style or phase.
Firstly there's the Parade (pardon the artsy pun) of interesting characters he mixes with, from his mistresses to his art dealers, and of course fellow artists, some of whom, like Braque in particular, he has a particularly direct connection with, whereas others, such as the writer/intellectual types, e.g. Appollinaire, Salmon and Cocteau, he has very involved but more oblique lines of communication with.
And further still, even one style turns out in fact to be a multiplicity of rich diversity, with Cubism being a vastly oversimplifying label applied to period that has generated numerous subdivisions ('analytic' or 'synthetic' cubism, for example), and whose tenets he might completely abandon at any given moment, as he does when he adopts a much more obviously traditional neo-classicist mode.
Richardson's first volume was, for me, a little more fun, covering as it did a longer and more varied period. I think I also find the formative years of many artists - I've certainly found this to be true of a lot of the musicians that I've read and/or written about - the most fascinating. But this is just as well done, and this period of Picasso's Vesusvian output deserves the close focus he gives it. Can't wait to get stuck into volume III!
January 28, 2019
probably everything you ever wanted to know about Cubism
June 1, 2008
These three volumes not only flesh out Picasso and his work (and I DO mean flesh), but also provide intriguing vignettes of his fellow artists, associates, lovers, landlords, dealers, and family. Just a couple of examples. His father was an artist of sorts; he specialized in pigeons! Pablo "quoted" him (I wouldn't exactly say homaged) in later years with his doves of peace and similar works. He and Apollinaire used to swipe small statues from the Louvre, to criticize the security, they said. However, Apollinaire was found out and then was accused, along with Picasso, of stealing the Mona Lisa in 1911! They were innocent. Mona didn't show up until 1915. Eagerly awaiting the fourth and last volume.
July 19, 2016
This second volume of John Richardson's of A Life of Pocasso is another voluminous accounting which takes the painter through his Cubist period and first great fame from the years 1907 through 1917. Each of of these thick oversized highly documented books Includes detailed analysis of his paintings and drawings and etchings and sculpture and virtually all the people he meets, many of whom become his mistresses. The man was prodigious in virtually every respect. Once begun,I'm determined to get my way through all of these life stage biographies Richardson has written on Picasso, because whatever you think about the man, he is certainly a monumental figure in art.
December 4, 2024
An exceptionally good biography which essentially covers Picasso (and Braque's) development of cubism all the way through to his move towards neo-classicism. Great coverage of his relationships with important dealers such as Kahnweiller and Vollard as well as other important cubists such as Juan Gris and Fernand Leger. Not far off 5 stars, I just felt that sometimes Richardson would briefly skip over Picasso's gross mistreatment of women.
June 18, 2008
John Richardson's second book, devoted to Picasso's Cubist years is a really great read. His breakdown of this period is masterful - from Picasso and Braque's forging new ground to the cast of characters surrounding the movement (dealers, lovers, the Salon Cubists, poets, etc.). There was so much information, I am going to have to re-read it...but not now...my head is swimming.
December 30, 2015
Richardson's Picasso books could almost be categorized as reference materials rather than biographies. I'm happy that I own them, as Richardson covers so many events and people that I would like to eventually learn more about, but it isn't the breeziest of reads (with exceptions like the bits about the Louvre robberies).
October 18, 2012
The second fantastic volume by Richardson detailing the years Picasso (and Braque), developed Cubism, the mind blowing artistic achievement that changed art forever and all the important artistic people surrounding him like Apollinaire, Max Jacobs, Matisse, and Cocteau, among others.
August 29, 2012
The second book's as great as the first. The sketches and paintings are great. I found myself, in each volume, staring at the pictures then reading. Another great book that should be read for all Picasso fans.
May 29, 2008
Very good information, especially the way Richardson fills out Braque.
January 2, 2016
Another masterpiece of insightful facts not only about Picasso but all the other artists involved throughout the period.And the times themselves.
Can't wait to start volume 3
Can't wait to start volume 3
June 5, 2013
The three volumes by John Richardson are THE definitive biography of Picasso. They are must read for anyone interested in Picasso.
September 16, 2013
I'm trying to read biographies of all the artists I can. This was fascinating but a tough slog. I'm going to try to get volumes one and three.
January 31, 2017
the best overview
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