Picasso

by Gertrude Stein

Intimate, revealing memoir of Picasso as man and artist by influential literary figure. Highly readable amalgam of biographical fact, artistic and aesthetic comments: Picasso as founder of Cubism, associate of Apollinaire, Braque, Derain, other notables; titanic, creative spirit. One of Stein's most accessible works. 61 black-and-white illustrations. Index.

Genres: Art, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Art History, Memoir, Classics

151 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Gertrude Stein was an American writer who spent most of her life in France, and who became a catalyst in the development of modern art and literature. Her life was marked by two primary relationships, the first with her brother Leo Stein, from 1874-1914, and the second with Alice B. Toklas, from 1907 until Stein's death in 1946. Stein shared her salon at 27 rue de Fleurus, Paris, first with Leo and then with Alice. Throughout her lifetime, Stein cultivated significant tertiary relationships with well-known members of the avant garde artistic and literary world of her time.

Reviews

[Mohammad Hrabal · Rating 3 out of 5]

وی [اشتاین] از ترکیب حقایق زندگی‌نامه‌ای با نقد و نظر هنرمندانه و زیباشناختی، توصیفی گویا و بی‌بدیل از پیکاسو - به‌عنوان بنیان‌گذار کوبیسم و نابغه‌ای که در جستجوی بی‌وقفه برای انتقال بینش متعلق به قرن بیستم برانگیخته شد - به دست می‌دهد. مقدمه صفحه‌ی ۵ کتاب
اسکار وایلد همواره می‌گفت طبیعت کاری نکرده است مگر نسخه‌ برداری از هنر و به‌ راستی در این گفته حقیقتی نهان است و مطمئناً دهکده‌های اسپانیا همان‌ قدر کوبیست بودند که این نقاشی‌ها. صفحات ۱۶-۱۷ کتاب
یک روز پیکاسو با اوقات‌ تلخی زیاد به من گفت، آنها می‌گویند من بهتر از رافائل نقاشی می‌کنم و احتمالا درست می‌گویند، شاید من بهتر نقاشی کنم ولی اگر می‌توانم به‌ خوبی رافائل نقاشی کنم دست‌ کم این حق را دارم که شیوه‌ی خود را برگزینم و آنها باید آن را، این حق را، به رسمیت بشناسند، ولی نه، آنها می‌گویند نه. صفحه ۲۵ کتاب
بعدها وقتی به موفقیت بسیاری دست یافت، یک روز گفت، می‌دانی، اگر یک نابغه ناموفق باشی، خانواده‌ات و همه به گونه‌ای با تو رفتار می‌کنند که انگار یک نابغه‌ای، ولی وقتی به موفقیت دست می‌یابی، وقتی شروع به پول درآوردن می‌کنی، وقتی حقیقتاً موفق می‌شوی، آن‌ وقت خانواده‌ات و همه‌ی افراد دیگر با تو نه همچون یک نابغه، بلکه مانند مردی که به موفقیت دست یافته است رفتار می‌کنند. صفحه ۳۸ کتاب
​۱۴۰۳/۱۲/۲۹

[Janet Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd to think of two expats, one American, the other Spanish talking “easily and sweetly with an unrestraint that had less to do with a meeting of minds than a meeting of natures” – and neither speaking their own language. But even my conversational French might stretch a lot further if I had canvasses to sell and was chatting with a millionairess. Or am I being cynical?

Alas nothing Miss Stein writes gives me the least impression that it’s not all just a rich woman’s self-indulgent fantasy. Did she really believe her friendship with Picasso was mutual? Ask any one of the great man’s partners how they’d see that working.

All in all, Miss Stein’s work here is hard to like. Written in that ‘experimental’ style when upper-class poetesses went all serious and hammered out abstract ideas over and over again in case we didn’t get them the first time, and all to the strains of William Walton. No doubt she does have much to say about Picasso but she makes it all so laboured and so forced.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stein's Picasso
A review of the Digicat eBook (November 13, 2022) collecting IF I TOLD HIM (1923) and the essay PICASSO (1938) with an extended introduction and discussion questions.

Stylistically, Stein’s hallmarks are unmistakable: repetition that intensifies rather than redundantly restates, variation that tests the limits of a phrase, and syntax that brings foregrounded attention to the smallest units of language. - excerpt from the Introduction.

If I told him would he like it.
Would he like it if I told him. - first lines of IF I TOLD HIM: A Completed Portrait of Picasso.

[Note: It is 3 stars for this Digicat edition only / probably a 4 star otherwise]
I'm in the midst of a Gertrude Stein mini-binge as I'm also finishing Deborah Levy's novella My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein: A Fiction (2026) and Francesca Wade's monumental biography Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife (2025). I thought a short work by Stein herself would be a good addition to the mix. This edition of Picasso wasn't ideal, but made for a stopgap.


Picasso's 1905/06 portrait of Gertrude Stein, about which, when told that it didn't look like her, he answered: "It will." Image sourced from Wikipedia.

The oddity about this is it is tagged as being 34 pages whereas the actual length is probably twice that. The introductory pages and the ending discussion pages are not included in the page count. The further problem is that I had the sense that those editorial sections may have been written by an AI, i.e. they just didn't have a natural human feel to them.

Otherwise, Stein's own "cubist" poetry portrait of Picasso and her later essay were entertaining and humorous as long as you were prepared to go with her repetitive style and esoteric views. You can sample those in my highlights and/or status updates below or here and here if you are reading outside of GR.

I'm going to look for another edition of this to supplement my reading, as this one was not completely satisfactory.

Trivia and Link
LibraryThing has a wonderful feature of documenting the "Legacy Libraries" of famous writers, when such details have become publicly available. You can read about the Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas Legacy Library at LibraryThing here. If you are a LibraryThing member with your own collection recorded, you will see how many books you share with them. 😊

Bonus Track
Couldn't resist adding Banksy's Picasso as a bonus. 🤣

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I've read this it's true I even have a copy. Picasso did a portrait he did many portraits, he was the first to do my portrait and there I am on the cover. That is me and that is him and there we are together. And Picasso is inside as well inside he breathes because I have him inside. He is inside with me and there I am outside of him being inside. When light refracts the light has meaning and the many meanings of light are not lost. Refraction is not forgetting. The way to see is not to see but to forget, forget what cannot be seen and just to see what there is to see. That is the way to see and Picasso had his way and I had mine.

Picasso was many things and many of those things were Picasso and only Picasso. He didn't invent cubism but he invented Picasso and then he forgot Picasso. Picasso was a genius and believe me I know a genius when I see one. If I know one thing it is genius.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A norte-americana Gertrude Stein e o espanhol Pablo Picasso conheceram-se e foram amigos durante um tempo em que ambos viviam em Paris. Zangaram-se, em 1927, quando morreu o amigo comum, Juan Gris.

Picasso é um ensaio muito interessante sobre a vida e a obra do pintor, a sua inspiração, evolução e influências: o período azul, rosa, arlequim; o nascimento do cubismo; a arte negra; a caligrafia; as colagens; a escultura; etc.
Gertrude Stein chega, não ao fim da história de Picasso "mas ao fim desta história da sua história.", em 1937 quando Picasso - depois de dois anos sem pintar e em que se dedicou a escrever poesia - encontrou a sua verdadeira cor, o cinzento, com Guernica .

Trata-se de um excelente ensaio que, sinteticamente - e "colorido" por alguns pequenos diálogos entre Stein e Picasso -, ajuda a compreender um pouco a obra do pintor.

No "inverno de 1906 posei para Picasso; oitenta sessões e no fim apagou a cabeça. Disse-me que já não me podia ver e foi para Espanha. Quando regressou, Picasso pintou a cabeça sem voltar a ver-me e deu-me o quadro. Para mim, sou eu. É a única reprodução de mim que não deixou de ser eu."

[Manday · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a strange half-biography of Picasso written by one of his friends and cohort of artists. I have always struggled to understand some of the more academic (or should I say more precocious) forms of artistic analysis, and this falls firmly into that category. I dislike that Gertrude Stein groups people entirely by their nationality and generalizes everything - Spain is THIS, Spaniards do THIS, Russians do THIS. I disagree with is quite a bit, and find it borders on offensive, as if we are all just our nationality. The book also fails to follow a clear timeline, jumping back and forth back and forth in a strange manner, you think she has finished covering one period and all of the sudden you are discussing it again. I can't say I am a fan of the writing style either. Overall, not a good read for me.

[Silvia Sirea · Rating 5 out of 5]

In queste poche pagine di Gertrude Stein viene raccontata una fetta di vita di Pablo Picasso. Lei, che l'ha conosciuto e ha potuto assistere al modo in cui Picasso è diventato Picasso, con una prosa che sembra scritta di getto, immediata e che dà l'impressione di essere vagamente confusionaria, riesce a trasmettere tutta la vitalità e la vigorosità che ha contraddistinto uno dei maggiori artisti del Novecento.
Gertrude Stein, sua contemporanea, è stata forse la prima a percepire il genio che era in lui e l'entusiasmo della sua narrazione dimostra quanto ci abbia saputo vedere lungo.

"Il creatore è tanto contemporaneo da dare l'impressione d'essere in anticipo sulla propria generazione; per rilassarsi, nella vita di ogni giorno, desidera vivere con le cose d'ogni giorno del tempo passato, non vuole vivere in modo così contemporaneo quanto i suoi contemporanei, i quali non sentono in modo particolarmente acuto di essere contemporanei."

[Uroš Đurković · Rating 3 out of 5]

Veli Gertruda da su tri razloga postojala za nastanak kubizma:
1) „kompozicija – promena živućeg se proširila i svaka je stvar bila podjednako značajna kao bilo koja druga”;
2) „počelo je da slabi verovanje u ono što su oči videle, odnosno, verovanje u stvarnost nauke ”;
3) „ram života, potreba da slika postoji u svom ramu, da ostane u svom ramu, više nije postojala. Slika koja ostaje u svom ramu je bila stvar koja je uvek postojala, a sada su slike počele da napuštaju svoje ramove, a to je takođe stvorilo neophodnu potrebu za kubizmom.”

(A i vrlo je zanimljivo uspostavila vezu između pejzaža i kubizma:
„ali španska arhitektura uvek preseca linije pejzaža, a to je ono što je osnova kubizma: čovekovo delo nije u harmoniji sa pejzažom, ono mu se suprotstavlja”)

„Pikaso” Gertrude Stajn je, dakle, literarni kubizam na delu – više specifičan ogled o umetnosti, nego promišljanje o Pikasovom delu. I začuđujuće retko ovde znate na čemu ste – nije jasno ni kad je i da li je uopšte Gertruda ironična, ukoliko jeste, zašto i u odnosu na šta. Posebno u tom svetlu golicaju misli različite sumanute generalizacije ili čak netačnosti – od toga da je Prvi svetski rat kubizam, u kome više nema jednog čoveka okruženog velikim brojem ljudi, već je kompozicija bez početka i kraja, gde je svaki ugao podjednako značajan, preko toga da su Rusi i Španci jedini Evropljani kojima Azija nije strana, a da Španci do toga da su Arapi „stvorili civilizaciju i kulturu za crnce”?! Ipak, priznajem da mi je bila simpatična misao kako su Španci zbog svog manjka organizacije i Amerikanci zbog svog viška organizacije bili prirodni zasnivači dvadesetog veka.

Više puta se spominje kako je Pikaso nosio u sebi neophodnost pražnjenja i da je on samo težio da dolazi do tog potpunog, pražnjenja, ali, eto, ne može da isprazni Španca iz sebe i to mu je kletva genijalnosti. I mada mi je metafora pražnjenja u kontekstu umetničkog stvaranja oduvek bila odurna i otužno neoriginalna, jasno mi je šta je Gertruda želela da kaže i imala je pravo. Telo, pokret, buka, nemir, ritam, otkrivanje likovnosti prvobitnih kultura, to je azbuka modernosti, pričali mi o Pikasu ili Rastku Petroviću. Pikaso je tu amblematičan – menjanje njegovog likovnog jezika je samo po sebi priča o mogućnostima modernosti, a možda i o lepoti:

„Lepota realizacije je lepota kojoj uvek treba više vremena da se prikaže kao lepota nego što je to stvarnoj lepoti potrebno. Lepota realizacije tokom svog stvaranja nije lepota, ona je samo tada lepota kada stvari koje je prate jesu stvorene unutar njenog lika. Tad je ona priznata kao lepota zahvaljujući njenom kvalitetu plodnosti, to je najlepša od svih lepota, lepšta od lepote smirenosti. Eto.”

Mnogo je u ovoj nevelikoj knjizi glomaznog, mnogo je ponavljanja, kubizam pulsira, a Gertruda je i dalje i enigma i figura koja je temeljno obeležila istoriju umetnosti. Ujedno i u centru centra (a šta je drugo tad Pariz bio nego to) i u večnom budžaku andergraunda. Svima znana, a retko čitana, još ređe razumevana. Zaista je malo ko tako upečatljiv, u svakom smislu.

Zaista vredi baciti pogled na ovo i još više na „Tender Buttons” i maštati da putnik iz budućnosti donese odgovore na misteriju teksta.

[Mohammad Ali Shamekhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

با ارفاق سه ستاره

کلا کتاب رو کتاب جالبی یافتم. اینکه جریان تحولات و رفت و آمدهای فکری و هنری پیکاسو رو بدون اطناب و خسته کردن خواننده حکایت می کرد، خواندنیش کرده بود

اینکه اشتاین بر عنصر اسپانیایی پیکاسو تأکید می کنه و اسپانیا رو - در کنار آمریکا و تا حدی روسیه - از بقیه ی کشورهای اروپایی جدا می کنه، اشاره ی جالبیه. همچنین تأکیدی که بر تمایز قاطع قرن نوزدهم و بیستم - و تغییر کمپوزیسیون از حالت متمرکز به حالت پراکنده - می کنه، حذابیتی درش هست. اما نباید فراموش کرد اینگونه نگاه ذات گرایانه به چیزهایی مثل "اسپانیا" یا "قرن بیستم" خالی از تسامح نیست

نقایص و انتقادات

البته عقب جلو رفتن های زمانی کتاب به نظرم یه نقصه، هر چند با حرف تو حرف آوردنش مشکلی ندارم - یعنی مشکل در هم ریختن توالی زمانی بحث ها است؛ مثلا بحث در مورد یک دوره یه جا متمرکز نیست بلکه یهو وسط توضیح یه دوره ی دیگه یک تیکه در مورد یه دوره ی دیگه ذکر شده

مشکل دیگه ی این کتاب اینه که نقاشی ها رو برده آخر کتاب - حداقل در یک نسخه ی انگلیسی که من دیدم اینگونه نبود؛ بهتر بود نقاشی های مربوط آنجا که بحثشان است آورده می شد. همچنین نقاشی ها سیاه و سفید چاپ شده اند؛ حال اگر بدانیم که مثلا حرف از دوره ی آبی یا صورتی است و منظور غلبه ی این یا آن رنگ است می فهمیم که عکس رنگی چقدر ضرورت داشت

در مورد روانی متن ترجمه نمی شه گفت ترجمه ی خوبیه اما ترجمه ی بدی هم نیست. ابهاماتی جاهایی هست که بیشتر به نظر می آد مفهومی باشند تا مربوط ترجمه

[Ben Loory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the part where the burglars break in and steal all Picasso’s linens but leave his paintings behind

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting (but very short book) about Picasso´s biography written by one of his closest friend.

[Dottie Suggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is well known that Gertrude Stein was not a great writer, but she did have very close contact with many struggling artists during the great art movement in Paris. She welcomed and supported Hemingway, Matisse, Picasso and many others in her home. She sat for paintings, collected their art, read their works, and had them to her house for meals and long discussions. For those insights, this book is well worth reading. Some of her abstract thoughts are difficult to follow. I am sure she believed herself to be clever and generous in the knowledge she presents here. Short, fast read with made images of Picasso's paintings presented in chronological order. I will keep this book in my Picasso section. Come read it some afternoon and you will see. We can discuss this book and art over a nice glass of wine.

[Özgür Atmaca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biyografi olmasına rağmen sanat tarihine fazlaca eğilmiş ve tüm bunları sıkıcı olmayan cümlelerle aktarmış. Yazar , Picasso’nun arkadaşı olduğu için de normalde biyografilerde karşılaşmayacağınız anılar ve olaylar da kitabı ilginç hale getirmiş diyebilirim.

[Mana Ravanbod · Rating 4 out of 5]

البته با ترجمه عزیزه عضدی بهتر است

[terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picasso, dunque, ha il suo splendore. È così. Grazie.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

My God, this book is a heaping stack of pretention. Ok, first off, I think the author forgot this book was supposed to be about Picasso and not just her spouting off her opinions about him. It's mostly her droning on and on, trying to sound clever by making purposefully convoluted pronouncements about his personality. Here's a small sample of the prose you'll be subjected to:

"As I have said and as I have repeated, the character, the vision of Picasso is like himself, it is Spanish and he does not see reality as all the world sees it, so that he alone amongst the painters did not have the problem of expressing the truths that all the world can see but the truths that he alone can see and that is not the world the world recognizes as the world."

"Picasso was always possessed by the necessity of emptying himself, of emptying himself completely, of always emptying himself, he is so full of it that all his existence is the repetition of a complete emptying, he must empty himself, he can never empty himself of being Spanish, but he can empty himself of what he has created."

She can't even end the book without doing it:

"Now this is the end of this story, not the end of his story, but the end of this story of his story."

One thing I'll say for this book? It's mercifully short.

[Elisa Pierandrei · Rating 4 out of 5]

La presentazione più vivace del genio di Picasso, frutto dell'amicizia fra un grande artista e una grande scrittrice che della Spagna di Picasso scriveva (nel 1938): "La Spagna in questo senso non è affatto meridionale, è orientale, lì le donne portano il nero più spesso dei colori, la terra è secca e dorata di colore, il cielo è di un blu quasi nero, le notti stellate sono anche loro nere o di un blu molto scuro e l'aria è molto leggera, così che tutto e tutti sono neri". Colori. Identità.

[نوري · Rating 3 out of 5]

نبذة مختصرة عن حياة بيكاسو منذ قدومه إلى فرنسا في عام 1900 وحتى عام 1937 والتغيرات التي طرأت على فنه وتأثير كلا من إسبانيا وفرنسا وإيطاليا والحضارة الشرقية بوجه عام على فكرة وخطوطه، مع وجود صور كثيرة لأعماله الفنية. الكاتبة هي صديقته الأمريكية الثرية التي عاشت عمرها كله في فرنسا والتي تعد من النقاد الفنيين المهمين في تلك الفترة.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books contains the only clear description I have ever heard of Cubism. As the butch doyenne of the Parisian Salons, she captures the heart of Picasso in that context. Obliquely shifted my world view just a bit.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful so far. Stein's prose style is a little strange, of course, and sort of off-putting but that's the whole point, isn't it? It actually works for this kind of analysis/ memoir/ essay/ piece of what we might refer to as "Imaginitive Criticism"....the singular way she crafts a sentence, insight, observation lulls you in and makes you see the work and life of Picasso as she does, through her aphoristic eyes, and since- according to the lady herself- this is very crux of the matter w/r/t Senior Picasso then the language isn't strange isn't wrong isn't self-indulgent or obscure but a part of the act of reading of seeing in all its glory.

***

After having finished the thing, my original take is still pretty close to the mark. Stein's prose gets a little bit annoying sometimes since naturally she takes so much of what she thinks and says for granted and with a bit of a self-important, nigh-Olympian air. She'll punch you in the nose, if you Woody Allen fans know what I mean.

I don't mind this too much, since I respect her as an aesthetic o.g. and I actually like the tough, innovative way she approaches grammar and syntax. I also love to read about Art in an accessible but apparaising way. I don't know as much about Art as I'd like to but I'm oddly exhilerated when there's commentary about brush strokes and line quality and space adjoining a painting. It's like an ideal convrsation, no?

This is the kind of book which exhbits the type of criticism I like the most- passionate, imaginitive, subjective, associative...an artistic criticism, a poetics of critical inquiry, an aestheticism of impressions. I love my Greil Marcus and my Lester Bangs and my Sontag and so on (anybody out there have a writer in this vein I might enjoy?) for this very reason. Wilde is oh so right, in this as in all things, when he argues that criticism makes of text something beautiful, useful and unique- what more could be said of poetry?

The problem with a book like this is, basically, that it's not really best for a Picasso specialist (too Stein-centered) and yet could probably best be appreciated or argued with by a specialist. Maybe it's the danger this kind of criticism runs, I don't know, but I think it would take more time to really be able to appreciate the text here in a worthy way. Three stars.

[Yasmin M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

از اون كتابهايي بود كه حتما دوست دارم تو قفسه ي كتابهام ببينمش. البته براي الان.
نكته اي كه به به ذهنم ميرسه اين هست كه اساسا وقتي يك چيزي يا كسي، كار خارق عادتي انجام ميده توي دنياي انسانها، اون رو اسطوره ميكنن. اسطوره ي خوبي، يا بدي، فرقي نداره. و بقيه ي انسان ها اونقدر اون آدم رو ميخونن، ميبينن و ميشنون ، كه كم كم باورشون ميشه اون از نسل خدايان بوده و به زمين اومده. رويا پردازي و اسطوره سازي براي همه ي انسانها وجود داره، با حدود و شدت هاي متفاوت.
من البته به اين جنبه ي كتاب توجه نكردم موقع خوندنش. جا داره بگم كه گرترود استاين عزيز بسيار بسيار سررشته ي افكارشون فرار بوده :) اين انگار يك كتاب نيست، بلكه انگار يك نفر از دوستان خانم استاين اومدن پيششون، با هم در حال نوشيدن چاي حرف زدن و كسي اون حرفها را روي كاغذ آورده، دوستي كه خيلي هم وراج و عجول بوده و همه ش صحبتهاي خانم استاين رو قطع ميكرده. من پيكاسو رو تحسين ميكنم، اما مي ترسم به تابلوهاش نگاه كنم. ترسم از اين هست كه من هم توي اين شكل هاي عجيب و به ظاهر بي معني، اون زيبايي اي رو كه به پيكاسو نسبت داده شده ببينم و دنياي " هنر به صرف نقاشي هاي رئال" من فرو بريزه.
به هر حال نكته اي كه فهميدم اين بود كه اصلا دوست ندارم وقتي يك اثر هنري رو ميبينم، كسي بياد و براي من توضيح بده كه مثلا منظور از اين قطعه در اون نقطه بيان فلان چيز بوده كه با فلان و بهمان اثر برابري ميكنه... اصلا ذوقم كور ميشه.
نتيجه اي كه بهش رسيدم اينه: دليل اين همه بحث ها، تكنيكاليتي ها، و به طور خلاصه به وجود اومدن اين مدل " نازيبايي هاي كسل كننده" وجود آدمهايي شبيه هم هست، حداقل از يك جنبه.
يك مثال: يك دانشمند فقط در صورتي به خودش فشار مياره كه كار تحقيقاتيش، به موقع به دست مجله هاي معتبر برسه، كه مقاله ي نوشته شده ش حسابي پر از اصطلاحات به جا باشه و خوب نوشته شده باشه و.... اين نگراني ها به نظرم، نصف لذت كنجكاوي و بازي هايي كه ميشه با علم كرد رو كور كرده. چرا؟ چون آدم هاي مشابهي هستند به اسم " رقيب". صد البته كه وجود اونها ميتونه رنگ و بويي به زندگي بده. اما متاسفانه همه چيز به حد افراط رسيده.
نكته: خودم هم زياد از اين شاخه به اون شاخه ميبرم تو نوشته هام. دليل: ساده ست، اينجا مال منه كه افكارم رو شرح بدم.
My train of thoughts, if you may.

[Raphael Canossa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is specific, it's certainly written for a true lover of such a format of exchanging views and ideas. I clearly enjoyed it because I was a kind of an eavesdropper, a peeper in my favorite place and epoch (in Paris, in early 20th century). It is unbearably cool to be involved and be familiar with the great masters like Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, as well as with other great figures of the past times. But, God, how many punctuation errors I came across! Although those are not mistakes at all - in the middle of the book I found an answer from the author himself: "Gertrude Stein said that she did not need commas, the text should be intelligible by itself and not need to be explained through commas and in general a comma is just a sign that you need to stop and take a breath, but as a person, he himself must know where it is better for him to stop and take a breath." How do you like it? That's Modernism! In general, I also liked the message of the book, to immortalize yourself, but at the same time show yourself through the eyes of another. Not just Gertrude, but precisely "Gertrude Stein", an exalted being, a thinker, a master of seeing a genius a mile away. What else to add - you won’t praise yourself, but who will remember you some time later?

[diario_de_um_leitor_pjv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pablo Picasso pintou um afamado retrato de Gertrude Stein. Ela escreveu este tocante e belo texto em que analisa e percorre a obra do pintor espanhol, de quem foi amiga próxima.

Esta edição que republica um texto de 1938, editado originalmente em Londres, foi adquirida no Museu Picasso de Barcelona, onde comprámos, igualmente, a cópia deste trabalho de Picasso.

O texto, no registo usual de Stein, pontua com memórias das vivências comuns desde o início do século XX até aos anos 30.

Stein demonstra no texto um conhecimenro apurado e atento das fases da produção artística de Picasso, bem como, das conexões do pintor, com as vanguardas e as escolas artísticas e literárias da Paris do início do século.

Um belo documento e um livro de aprendizagem.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review half written, coming soon.

[صان · Rating 4 out of 5]

یک شرحِ حال و کمی تفسیر خودمانی از زندگی و کارها و فکرها و دوره‌های کاریِ پیکاسو!

[Omar Abu samra · Rating 4 out of 5]

انصح بقراءة هذا العمل والذهاب فورا نحو متخف بيكاسو في برشلونة.

[Beliphaty]

گرترود و پابلو دوستای نزدیک و صمیمی بودن. مطالعه‌ی پیکاسو از زاویه‌ای انقدر نزدیک اونم وقتی قلم دست گرترود باشه می‌ارزه. جدا از اینکه خود پیکاسو اونقدر بزرگ و عجیب و غریب بوده که لازمه از زوایای مختلفی راجع بهش تحقیق کرد. من تو این زوایا از دیدن فیلم «راز پیکاسو» هم خیلی لذت بردم. از قضا کارگردان اون فیلم هم دوست قدیمی پابلوئه و کل تابلوهایی که در اون فیلم کشیده شدن بعد از تموم‌شدن ضبط، تعمدا از بین رفتن.
گرترود توی این کتاب به‌خوبی برامون توضیح می‌ده که شگفتی و جادوی قرن بیستم فرانسه متعلق به همون قرنه و شکوهش با حضور اسپانیایی‌ها (من جمله پیکاسو) جهانی شده. چند روایت بامزه هم از اخلاق‌های خاص استاد هست که باعث شد بهش به عنوان یه انسان نزدیکتر بشم.

[Patricia Vaccarino · Rating 2 out of 5]

The iconic Gertrude Stein hosted a salon in Paris that was a prestigious hotbed of creativity. The greatest writers and artists of the early Twentieth Century were brought together in this exclusive, mutual admiration club. Only the crème de la crème were invited to hobnob among the famous and soon-to-be-famous. Hailed for her writing, which was radical at the time, Stein’s craft and technique does not stand the test of time. The monotonous repetition, arbitrary absence of grammar, and countless insider references and entreaties are annoying, and do not satisfy the reader. This poorly crafted puff piece served Picasso well, but it is a real yawner for the rest of us.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

A discussion of genius, then a discussion of the works of a genius from a contemporary. My takeaways that may shift my viewings of his paintings in the future are the discussions of the many international influences on Picasso’s many periods. Not the influence of the artists from those countries, but the ways of thinking as viewed by Stein the author. The book also widened my knowledge of the varieties of work produced by Picasso. Ultimately the book is about genius, the ways of genius, and the unique point of view of this particular genius (although the many brilliant people who surrounded Stein must have influenced her opinions on genius)

[Pat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stein is the most wretched writer in the English language that I have ever encountered. Fifty pages of repetitive, aimless, insipid drivel. Even worse than her illegible and nonsensical writing is her “insight” and analysis of art, which amounts to nothing more than cultic, mystical hokum. She had nothing to say but she said it anyways and it blows chunks.