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Picasso
"The definitive introduction to the scope and range of Picasso's work." The Times, London
"I wanted to be a painter, and I became Picasso," declared Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) in an apt survey of a triumphant career. He had good grounds for the confidence palpable in his statement, for in the history of 20th century art, his name stands out over all the others. In Picasso's paintings, drawings, lithographs, ceramics, and sculptures, he was tirelessly inventive and innovative, exhibiting an aesthetic bravado that kept him one step ahead of his contemporaries. From subject matter to new forms and techniques to new media, Picasso got there first. The Spanish artist's enormous output, from the eight-year-old's beginnings to the late work of a man of ninety-one, is surely one of the most diverse and creatively energetic in the whole history of art, and it is no exaggeration to see him as the genius of the century.
Carsten-Peter Warncke's study is a thorough review of Picasso's entire oeuvre, from the early Blue and Rose Periods, through the analytic and synthetic cubism and classicist phase all the way up to the art of the old savage Picasso. Our study of Picasso, the most exhaustive record of his work to date, contains almost 1500 illustrations'from his earliest drawings to the master's very last painting. Extensive bibliography section as well as illustrated section about Picasso's life and work Index of Names
"I wanted to be a painter, and I became Picasso," declared Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) in an apt survey of a triumphant career. He had good grounds for the confidence palpable in his statement, for in the history of 20th century art, his name stands out over all the others. In Picasso's paintings, drawings, lithographs, ceramics, and sculptures, he was tirelessly inventive and innovative, exhibiting an aesthetic bravado that kept him one step ahead of his contemporaries. From subject matter to new forms and techniques to new media, Picasso got there first. The Spanish artist's enormous output, from the eight-year-old's beginnings to the late work of a man of ninety-one, is surely one of the most diverse and creatively energetic in the whole history of art, and it is no exaggeration to see him as the genius of the century.
Carsten-Peter Warncke's study is a thorough review of Picasso's entire oeuvre, from the early Blue and Rose Periods, through the analytic and synthetic cubism and classicist phase all the way up to the art of the old savage Picasso. Our study of Picasso, the most exhaustive record of his work to date, contains almost 1500 illustrations'from his earliest drawings to the master's very last painting. Extensive bibliography section as well as illustrated section about Picasso's life and work Index of Names
740 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 32 reviews
August 3, 2021
The Fall of Icarus, 1958
Art historian Carsten-Peter Warncke's book on Picasso is an extensive examination of the artist’s work from beginning to end, in seven lively chapters: Picasso the Legend, The Early Years 1890-1901, The Blue and Rose Periods 1901-1906, Cubism 1906-1936, Classicism and Surrealism 1916-1936, War, Art and Politics 1937-1953, The Man and the Myth 1954-1973. Since this is a book review and not a book, I will limit myself to the final chapter, the last phase of the artist’s life and work, Picasso between the ages of 73 and 92, a phase I find particularly absorbing. Below are a number of quotes from the renowned art historian’s The Man and the Myth 1954-1973 along with my comments:
“Picasso’s work from the later 1950s onwards typically drew upon personal material and also worked with constant repetition of his own motifs and compositions.” ---------- The Rape of the Sabine Women is a good case in point. Anybody familiar with Picasso will identify many familiar aspects in this work: the instantly recognizable rendering of the horse, the uplifted, screaming head, the twisted, multi-dimensional head and body of the prone woman. I personally have had several opportunities to view this masterpiece in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. As with the other pics I’ve included here, a tiny reproduction doesn’t do justice to the actual canvas (195 x 130 cm or about 6 feet high and 4 feet wide). A direct encounter with this Picasso is both astounding and humbling.
The Rape of the Sabine Women, 1963
“Picasso was now scarcely concerned to mirror the outside world. Instead, he took his own work as the center of the creative universe.” ---------- With Claude Drawing, Françoise et Paloma, the exclusive focus of attention for all three - woman, little girl and little boy - is the little boy’s process of drawing on paper. Such a tender rendering, the arm around the little girl, each child given its own rectangle of vivid color, the adult’s supportive presence and eyeing of the paper. And, along with his drawing, Claude has such a calm, inward focus, as if his sketch is an extension of his confidence and tenderness. My sense is Claude can represent Picasso returning to his own youthful vision of what it means to be a creative artist.
Claude Drawing, Françoise et Paloma, 1954
“In the picture done on March 30, 1956, Picasso used a simple but witty device to underline his own creative inventiveness, placing at the center of the studio scene a fresh, virgin canvas awaiting the artist. The pure, white, empty space contrasts with the rest of the picture and is also its prime subject.” ---------- In addition to what Carsten-Peter Warncke notes here, Picasso accomplishes, through a reversal of color, much of what artist Kazimir Malevich accomplished with his Black Square, for example, a painting (the empty white canvas) that isn’t specifically one thing.
The Studio of "La Californie" at Cannes, 1956
Black Square by Kazimir Malevich
“Calling the figure a football player is sleight of hand. The trick is made plausible purely by the painted shirt, shorts and boots. Sculpture such as this is not intended as a mimetic representation of reality; rather, it sets out to play with the basics of visual experience. And deception is the fundamental principle of this art.” ---------- Actually, I see many elements of dance in athletes playing soccer and other sports. With this sculpture, through his visual genius and creative magic, Picasso captures the very essence of fluid movement in an accomplished player on the field.
Football Player, 1961
“The picture within a picture was one of Picasso’s traditional motifs; through it, he grants us access to the very essence of the creative process. Picasso is showing us his power. He can make a world out of nothing.” ---------- A few things I specifically relish in this painting (a huge canvas, thus my 2nd pic here): the curving flourish of the artist’s yellow hat, the stunning beauty of the model captured in her Picasso-like wide Spanish eyes and long black hair and how the intensity of the artist’s gaze is transferred directly to his brush and finally the asymmetrical canvas.
Painter and his model, 1963
“In old age, Picasso transferred to his art the task of expressing the vitality which was ebbing from his life. Hence, for instance, the new graphic works which, when successful, articulated lifelong fascinations in a succinct and impeccably judged manner. All of the etchings are precise records of carefully-observed scenes, using just a few dabs and strokes, quickly but perfectly done.” ---------- For me, such sparse dabbing and stroking brings to mind Chinese brush painting. What is left unpainted speaks with such subtle power.
Los Cabestros Retiran Al Toro Manso, 1957
Bamboo by Gloria Whea-Fun Teng, 2009
“In Picasso’s ouvre we plainly see a rational, logical, consistent method. At core he was an intellectual artist. In a real sense, Picasso transferred ideas into art, and created unified harmonies of idea and artwork, form and content, which are fundamentally traditional in nature and highlights his classical character.” ---------- Call me a radical, but I find Picasso’s Las Meninas more eye-catching. I know, I know . . . I probably wouldn’t think so if I viewed the original Diego Velázquez.
Las Meninas (after Velázquez), 1957
detail of Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas, 1656
“Picasso’s true greatness and significance lie in his dual role as revolutionary and traditionalist at once. He gave a new vitality to art even as he preserved the creative presence (outside the museums) of its history. For this reason he became the pre-eminent figure in 20th-century art.” ---------- Of the many elements of Musketeer with pipe that I adore is how Picasso paints the shoes of the musketeer as if they are shocked, squealing dachshunds, dachshunds who could be the stand-ins for uptight philistines who think they can stand in judgement of his art. Squeal and judge me all you want, you no-talent cretins!
Musketeer with pipe, 1968
August 17, 2019
Mother and Child, 1921
Art Institute of Chicago
You can’t go wrong with Taschen art books. This one has a wealth of reproductions of Picasso’s long prestigious life.
Picasso is surely the foremost artist of the 20th century. He changed art. The wide diversity of paintings, collages, and sculptures certainly attest to this.
I can’t say that Picasso is my favourite painter – some of his works strike me as childish and repetitious.
The text in this book has next to nothing to say on biographical details – on his wives and lovers – or his children. Both World Wars are mentioned as if they were distant events even though Picasso was living in Paris.
The book is mostly concerned with Picasso’s voluminous output and is overly intellectualized.
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907
Museum of Modern Art, New York City
December 12, 2020
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was a Spanish painter. "The Dove of Peace", "Guernica", "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", are some of his most important works. He was one of the creators of "Cubism", one of the most outstanding art movements of the 20th century.
Pablo Ruiz y Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain, on October 25, 1881. He was the son of José Ruiz Blasco, professor of Art History and drawing, passionate about painting, and Maria Picasso y López.
As a boy, Picasso showed his talent for the arts and received encouragement from his father. His first drawings represented bullfights. At the age of 14, he joined the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. In 1896 his father rented a studio for his son.
That same year, his canvas “First Communion” was accepted by the Barcelona Municipal Exhibition. The painting “Dois Patos” was sent by his father to an exhibition in Malaga, receiving the first official award from the painter.
In 1897 Pablo Picasso was admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in San Fernando, Madrid, but soon rejected the traditional forms of the school and returned to Barcelona.
In 1900, Picasso travelled to Paris and met with a Catalan industrialist who rented a studio for the artist and put him in contact with a painting dealer, who held the first exhibition of the painter, on June 24, 1901, doing great success.
Pablo Picasso was seduced by Paris and influenced by the Impressionist Style, he adopted it in his works, with the typical brushstroke of pure pigment instead of smooth modelling, as in work The Flower Seller (1901), Glasgow Art Gallery, Scotland.
Suddenly, his work becomes monochromatic. The blue begins to invade his canvases; it is the blue of sadness that appears in the melancholic portraits of his Blue Stage (1901-1904), as in O Velho Guitarrista (1903).
Picasso divided his time between Barcelona, Madrid and Paris, but in 1904 he settled definitively in the famous Bateau Lavoir, which he shared with Juan Gris, Van Dongen and others.
Gradually, Picasso broke free from the melancholy Blue Stage and entered the Pink Stage (1905-1907). In this phase, the main themes are circus figures and women. They are from that period: "The Young Harlequin", "The Young Man with Pipe" and The Saltimbancos Family, (National Galery, Washington), all from 1905.
In 1906, Pablo Picasso started to work on the canvas Le Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), where he abandoned the mannerism of the two previous phases and with geometric shapes eliminated the spatial depth.
It was the starting point of his research that resulted in “Cubism”, which together with Georges Braque sought new answers to the question of portraying the real three-dimensional world on a flat-screen.
Within Cubism's proposals, Picasso went through several phases. The initial works of Analytical Cubism, as they are known, generally depict single figures or still lifes using a limited range of shades of grey and brown, where the figures are decomposed and rearranged, as in the canvas Nu (1910), Tate Gallery, London.
The next step reaches almost total elimination of the object, where abstraction prevents the real view of the painted object, is Synthetic Cubism, when letters and words appear in the paintings, as in O Aficionado (1912), Kunstmuseum, Basel.
In 1917, with his friend Jean Cocteau, he travelled to Italy, where he made the sets and costumes for the ballet Parade, with music by Erik Satie and choreography by Serguei Diaghilev.
In Rome, Picasso meets Olga Khoklova, and on July 12, 1918, he marries her in Paris. In 1921 his first son, Paulo is born.
Its cubism still extends until the 1920s, but already something stylized within Trois Masques Musiciens (1921), Museum of Modern Art, New York.
In the 1930s, rhythmic, curvilinear forms appear, which foreshadow dramatic representation as in the huge mural “Guernica” (1937), National Museum of Art Rainha Sofia, Madrid.
The work evokes the bombing of the Basque city of Guernica Spanish Civil War; German planes bomb the Basque city of Guernica. The work was exhibited in the Spanish pavilion at the International Exhibition in Paris.
Although more famous as a painter, Pablo Picasso also produced prints and sculptures. In the late 1940s, he started producing ceramics.
In 1954 he married Jaqueline Roque, and in 1959 he bought the castle of Vauvenargues, in the south of France, where he took up residence.
His last paintings were executed with vigour in a simplistic style as in the work Portrait of Jaqueline Roque (1954).
Pablo Picasso passed away at Notre-Dame-de Vie, in Mougins, France, on April 8, 1973.
Source: https://www.ebiografia.com/pablo_pica...
Pablo Ruiz y Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain, on October 25, 1881. He was the son of José Ruiz Blasco, professor of Art History and drawing, passionate about painting, and Maria Picasso y López.
As a boy, Picasso showed his talent for the arts and received encouragement from his father. His first drawings represented bullfights. At the age of 14, he joined the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. In 1896 his father rented a studio for his son.
That same year, his canvas “First Communion” was accepted by the Barcelona Municipal Exhibition. The painting “Dois Patos” was sent by his father to an exhibition in Malaga, receiving the first official award from the painter.
In 1897 Pablo Picasso was admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in San Fernando, Madrid, but soon rejected the traditional forms of the school and returned to Barcelona.
In 1900, Picasso travelled to Paris and met with a Catalan industrialist who rented a studio for the artist and put him in contact with a painting dealer, who held the first exhibition of the painter, on June 24, 1901, doing great success.
Pablo Picasso was seduced by Paris and influenced by the Impressionist Style, he adopted it in his works, with the typical brushstroke of pure pigment instead of smooth modelling, as in work The Flower Seller (1901), Glasgow Art Gallery, Scotland.
Suddenly, his work becomes monochromatic. The blue begins to invade his canvases; it is the blue of sadness that appears in the melancholic portraits of his Blue Stage (1901-1904), as in O Velho Guitarrista (1903).
Picasso divided his time between Barcelona, Madrid and Paris, but in 1904 he settled definitively in the famous Bateau Lavoir, which he shared with Juan Gris, Van Dongen and others.
Gradually, Picasso broke free from the melancholy Blue Stage and entered the Pink Stage (1905-1907). In this phase, the main themes are circus figures and women. They are from that period: "The Young Harlequin", "The Young Man with Pipe" and The Saltimbancos Family, (National Galery, Washington), all from 1905.
In 1906, Pablo Picasso started to work on the canvas Le Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), where he abandoned the mannerism of the two previous phases and with geometric shapes eliminated the spatial depth.
It was the starting point of his research that resulted in “Cubism”, which together with Georges Braque sought new answers to the question of portraying the real three-dimensional world on a flat-screen.
Within Cubism's proposals, Picasso went through several phases. The initial works of Analytical Cubism, as they are known, generally depict single figures or still lifes using a limited range of shades of grey and brown, where the figures are decomposed and rearranged, as in the canvas Nu (1910), Tate Gallery, London.
The next step reaches almost total elimination of the object, where abstraction prevents the real view of the painted object, is Synthetic Cubism, when letters and words appear in the paintings, as in O Aficionado (1912), Kunstmuseum, Basel.
In 1917, with his friend Jean Cocteau, he travelled to Italy, where he made the sets and costumes for the ballet Parade, with music by Erik Satie and choreography by Serguei Diaghilev.
In Rome, Picasso meets Olga Khoklova, and on July 12, 1918, he marries her in Paris. In 1921 his first son, Paulo is born.
Its cubism still extends until the 1920s, but already something stylized within Trois Masques Musiciens (1921), Museum of Modern Art, New York.
In the 1930s, rhythmic, curvilinear forms appear, which foreshadow dramatic representation as in the huge mural “Guernica” (1937), National Museum of Art Rainha Sofia, Madrid.
The work evokes the bombing of the Basque city of Guernica Spanish Civil War; German planes bomb the Basque city of Guernica. The work was exhibited in the Spanish pavilion at the International Exhibition in Paris.
Although more famous as a painter, Pablo Picasso also produced prints and sculptures. In the late 1940s, he started producing ceramics.
In 1954 he married Jaqueline Roque, and in 1959 he bought the castle of Vauvenargues, in the south of France, where he took up residence.
His last paintings were executed with vigour in a simplistic style as in the work Portrait of Jaqueline Roque (1954).
Pablo Picasso passed away at Notre-Dame-de Vie, in Mougins, France, on April 8, 1973.
Source: https://www.ebiografia.com/pablo_pica...
June 27, 2023
Si alguien busca el morbo sobre la vida sexual de Picasso y su relación con las mujeres, este libro no es para él. Si lo que quieres es conocer cómo evolucionó su arte, desde el aprendizaje académico hasta su estilo propio, creado de estilos artísticos, bienvenido a sus 726 páginas, ilustradas de manera maravillosa con imágenes de cientos de sus cuadros y esculturas.
Picasso creó de la nada el cubismo, al que se unió Georges Braque durante una temporada, aunque el malagueño lo hizo evolucionar y crecer de manera totalmente personal.
De acuerdo con el libro, Picasso venció a la representación estándar con "Las señoritas de Aviñón", y revivió el género de la pintura histórica con una nueva forma en el "Guernica". Para llegar a la idea final de esos dos cuadros, el pintor hizo decenas de bocetos que desembocaron en dos obras maestras. De hecho, si sólo hubiera hecho esos dos cuadros (que merecen verse en persona al menos una vez en la vida) Picasso ya habría pasado a la Historia del Arte.
Picasso creó de la nada el cubismo, al que se unió Georges Braque durante una temporada, aunque el malagueño lo hizo evolucionar y crecer de manera totalmente personal.
De acuerdo con el libro, Picasso venció a la representación estándar con "Las señoritas de Aviñón", y revivió el género de la pintura histórica con una nueva forma en el "Guernica". Para llegar a la idea final de esos dos cuadros, el pintor hizo decenas de bocetos que desembocaron en dos obras maestras. De hecho, si sólo hubiera hecho esos dos cuadros (que merecen verse en persona al menos una vez en la vida) Picasso ya habría pasado a la Historia del Arte.
September 5, 2018
Picasso was a genius, but its so disappointing that the majority of people, do not get what he have done, so most of the times they talk about the blue and rose periods, which were just excercises, if you want color check out Matisse or Chagal, Picasso is all about form and how he can explore the space time continuum through it, begin with Cezanne, you ll see the first glimpses of what Picasso finally achived with the "whores of Avignon" and the puzzle will start to connect, its the way he thinks that you admire, his paintings are a mind game but there is a truth in it, unlike Dali who was just doing little "magic" tricks, Picasso realised that there is a universal geometrical language still waiting to be discovered, believe me, there s a lot of science hidden in his paintings, mathematics is one of it for sure, his portraits are human sigils
March 8, 2019
Taschen is my favorite art book publisher. The quality is so good. You never have to worry about whether the paintings are printed in color or not. They're always in color on fine grade paper, with a sound researcher providing the biography.
This is a very thick book containing two volumes in one. It is a thick coffee table sized book. The biographer gives us a superficial, but adept overview of Picasso's life and various art periods. I felt it offered good insight and most importantly, a complete collection of his works. Some of the works are printed smaller, but most of them cover the full page. And did I mention they're all in color?
If you are a Picasso fan, this is a must for your art library.
This is a very thick book containing two volumes in one. It is a thick coffee table sized book. The biographer gives us a superficial, but adept overview of Picasso's life and various art periods. I felt it offered good insight and most importantly, a complete collection of his works. Some of the works are printed smaller, but most of them cover the full page. And did I mention they're all in color?
If you are a Picasso fan, this is a must for your art library.
November 23, 2008
"I wanted to be a painter, I became Picasso" said Picasso. If you want to read one book about Picasso's life and career ( paintings, ceramics, graphic work, drawings and sculpture), this study is remarkable.
July 3, 2021
Masterpiece modern arts.
May 23, 2020
This was an excellent supplement to Einstein, Picasso: Space, Time, and the Beauty That Causes Havoc. Biographical information is minimal compared to a greater emphasis on the paintings themselves: Picasso's method, style, philosophy, themes, reception, etc., which is precisely what I was looking for with this book. High quality images of his works.
April 30, 2009
Picasso said that at 8 years old he painted like Velazquez and when he was 60 or later he wanted to paint like a child. He was right: we are all born artists, but society, the socialization process that sews in class/gender/race in all its dimensions, takes it away from us. That's why there are Picasso's and the rest of us. The superman, the superpainter, the super is the result of the unsuper majorities. But that can and has changed. Discipline, imagination, hard work, resources to be able to more than survive and thrive and give you access to paints, canvasses and the training -- well then almost anyone could be their own Picasso.
Picasso was a magnificent imagination fearless in taking on or portraying his inner worlds and turmoils. Contradictory and cultural, briliiant and male, Picasso's outpourings of color, class and clashes, committed to changing the world through his painting -- however much you may disagree -- his accomplishments, his work has forever transformed what anyone would consider art. Picasso is the artworld, Jimi Hendrix in the electric music ladyland world. Individuals such these two in particular, are still leagues and almost cosmos away from the rest of us, who even in our frenzy to be original by learning from them even copy their mistakes unawares.
I am on volume two of this broad overview of Picasso's work. This volume opens up with Picasso's master ouerve/obra/work, "Guernica." Gernika was a Basque city, a sacred place thought to be one of the places of origin of the Basque people, that was bombed into ashes and history during a three-hour or so carpet bombing by the Nazi's Condor Legion, using German, Italian and Spanish Fascist airforce to obliterate Gernika. The destruction of Gernika happened in April 1937.
Earlier that year, in January, 1937, the Spansh Republican government had commissioned Picasso to paint an artwork for Spain's pavilion hall of exhibition at the Paris World Fair opening that summer. Picasso originally began a work that focused on the artist and his studio, his barricade, his trench, his frontline (metaphorically and actually) in the fight against fascism. The year before, after the Spanish Civil War began in July 1936, the Spanish Republican government appointed him the director of the renown Prado Museum, located in Madrid. Picasso had always been a supporter of the Spanish Republic and however honorary the title of Director of the Prado (he lived in Paris), he accepted to demonstrate to the world his affiliation and commitment to democracy and against fascism.
Picasso knew the brutality of Franco's uprising long before Gernika. For example, iIn March of 1937, Durango, another Basque town was also destroyed by air bombings. Then the destruction of Gernika, a sacred Basque place, happened. He immediately changed his approach to the piece and dedicated his work to the representation of Gernika in his work.
Picasso began painting Gernika on May 1 and by early June, merely five weeks later, he had finished the masterwork we have all come to associate in one way or another with modern ariel warfare.
That's the utilitarian version of Gernika, that it is a painting denouncing a fascist war crime. Yet there are infinite amount of aspects to this masterwork. The preparatory work, sketches, paintings, drawings and other work that Picasso developed and drew upon are in themselves lesser know masterworks. Picasso used for example the triptych, which had become a secular vehicle for painters formerly used in Christian paintings (the "holy trinity" -- the Eurocentric thesis/antithesis/synthesis frameworks), to not only portray Gernika but move beyond and reach another universal symbolism and level of art. The painting herself had mass backing, because of the world outrage against the fascist uprising in Spain and its use for organizing support for Spanish culture and the Republic. Picasso also is said to have decided on only using black, white, greys, because it would reproduce better as a postcard and poster, where color printing was still costlier and limited in distribution. Also, the Spanish writer, Jose Bergamin (I might have the wrong writer) is said to have the only element of color that was on the drafts of the Gernka -- a red star -- that Picasso decided against and took off (a collage element -- Picasso used a technique he learned from his father, that of placing cloth, paper and other media on the painting itself before painting in the color or element to experiment and see what the new element or color or contours or contrast would look like). Picasso also changed the design, re-working and literally editing the piece as he painted on the canvass.
From studying Picasso I learned how painters "edit" their work, much in the same fashion as writers do: crossing out or erasing words, images, colors, forms, positioning and paragraphs of art in the process of creating the final draft or version, as we now know Guernica. The process of Picasso's development of Guernica was photographed by his lover of that decade, Dora Maar. Guernica went through six stages or drafts before he finished in June 1937, approximately less than six weeks after starting to daube the wall-size canvass.
Later, after Germany had invaded and was occupying France, PIcasso was visited by German military officers. And when asked if had painted Guernica, he replied, "No you are the ones who created Guernica."
Picasso was a magnificent imagination fearless in taking on or portraying his inner worlds and turmoils. Contradictory and cultural, briliiant and male, Picasso's outpourings of color, class and clashes, committed to changing the world through his painting -- however much you may disagree -- his accomplishments, his work has forever transformed what anyone would consider art. Picasso is the artworld, Jimi Hendrix in the electric music ladyland world. Individuals such these two in particular, are still leagues and almost cosmos away from the rest of us, who even in our frenzy to be original by learning from them even copy their mistakes unawares.
I am on volume two of this broad overview of Picasso's work. This volume opens up with Picasso's master ouerve/obra/work, "Guernica." Gernika was a Basque city, a sacred place thought to be one of the places of origin of the Basque people, that was bombed into ashes and history during a three-hour or so carpet bombing by the Nazi's Condor Legion, using German, Italian and Spanish Fascist airforce to obliterate Gernika. The destruction of Gernika happened in April 1937.
Earlier that year, in January, 1937, the Spansh Republican government had commissioned Picasso to paint an artwork for Spain's pavilion hall of exhibition at the Paris World Fair opening that summer. Picasso originally began a work that focused on the artist and his studio, his barricade, his trench, his frontline (metaphorically and actually) in the fight against fascism. The year before, after the Spanish Civil War began in July 1936, the Spanish Republican government appointed him the director of the renown Prado Museum, located in Madrid. Picasso had always been a supporter of the Spanish Republic and however honorary the title of Director of the Prado (he lived in Paris), he accepted to demonstrate to the world his affiliation and commitment to democracy and against fascism.
Picasso knew the brutality of Franco's uprising long before Gernika. For example, iIn March of 1937, Durango, another Basque town was also destroyed by air bombings. Then the destruction of Gernika, a sacred Basque place, happened. He immediately changed his approach to the piece and dedicated his work to the representation of Gernika in his work.
Picasso began painting Gernika on May 1 and by early June, merely five weeks later, he had finished the masterwork we have all come to associate in one way or another with modern ariel warfare.
That's the utilitarian version of Gernika, that it is a painting denouncing a fascist war crime. Yet there are infinite amount of aspects to this masterwork. The preparatory work, sketches, paintings, drawings and other work that Picasso developed and drew upon are in themselves lesser know masterworks. Picasso used for example the triptych, which had become a secular vehicle for painters formerly used in Christian paintings (the "holy trinity" -- the Eurocentric thesis/antithesis/synthesis frameworks), to not only portray Gernika but move beyond and reach another universal symbolism and level of art. The painting herself had mass backing, because of the world outrage against the fascist uprising in Spain and its use for organizing support for Spanish culture and the Republic. Picasso also is said to have decided on only using black, white, greys, because it would reproduce better as a postcard and poster, where color printing was still costlier and limited in distribution. Also, the Spanish writer, Jose Bergamin (I might have the wrong writer) is said to have the only element of color that was on the drafts of the Gernka -- a red star -- that Picasso decided against and took off (a collage element -- Picasso used a technique he learned from his father, that of placing cloth, paper and other media on the painting itself before painting in the color or element to experiment and see what the new element or color or contours or contrast would look like). Picasso also changed the design, re-working and literally editing the piece as he painted on the canvass.
From studying Picasso I learned how painters "edit" their work, much in the same fashion as writers do: crossing out or erasing words, images, colors, forms, positioning and paragraphs of art in the process of creating the final draft or version, as we now know Guernica. The process of Picasso's development of Guernica was photographed by his lover of that decade, Dora Maar. Guernica went through six stages or drafts before he finished in June 1937, approximately less than six weeks after starting to daube the wall-size canvass.
Later, after Germany had invaded and was occupying France, PIcasso was visited by German military officers. And when asked if had painted Guernica, he replied, "No you are the ones who created Guernica."
July 22, 2018
Honestly, not very impressed by the arts (maybe due to lack of my understanding of art in general. Or the reoccurrence of cubism in architecture, and the surrealism in the literature which I have already seen/read. Or it might be simple, the over-defensiveness of the author about Picasso's copied arts too), but a nice weekend read/view-read.
October 21, 2018
Good collection. Great color reproductions of his paintings and more. I'm not a big Piacasso fan. Lots of good writing that I read parts of. Seemed to have all the details I would want to read if I had more interest.
May 20, 2023
2 volume Taschen Books set. A good discussion of Picasso’s life through his works. So many photos! I learned a lot about him and his art. I don’t read tons of art/art history books so I can’t compare much, but I learned a lot reading this one.
November 1, 2025
A great overview on the iconic artist for a visit at Picasso museum in Barcelona or at Reina Sofia in Madrid. It helps understanding the basics and follow along his development through his huge arr production.
August 18, 2019
Quick, good read for all writers. You will feel buoyed and validated in Goldberg’s hands.
June 13, 2023
Intense take on Picasso, his work, personal life and early influences.
Want to read
November 12, 2024Only got to read a little bit before I went to the museum in Barcelona but will be continuing it at some point - just have too much on the go atm!
April 19, 2022
I really enjoyed languorously making my way through this one focusing on the wonderful descriptions of the featured paintings - confirming two things to me - my love of art and that I could never be an art historian.
June 29, 2016
Libro técnico sobre la obra de Pablo Picasso. Pasa por sus primeros años en Málaga hasta su explosión como artista revolucionario en Francia. El libro no se ocupa en estudiar la psicología del artista malagueño, sino que hace un análisis formal de las obras.
El texto es un poco tedioso a ratos, y creo que pudo haber sido mucho más interesante si hubiera estudiado las diferentes relaciones que tuvo con las mujeres en su vida. El suicido de Casagemas es un ejemplo claro de como Picasso interioriza en su obra un episodio emocional. ¿Por qué no produce esto en otras partes del libro?
A pesar de ser un artista profundamente apasionado y obsesivo, este libro me dejo frío.
El texto es un poco tedioso a ratos, y creo que pudo haber sido mucho más interesante si hubiera estudiado las diferentes relaciones que tuvo con las mujeres en su vida. El suicido de Casagemas es un ejemplo claro de como Picasso interioriza en su obra un episodio emocional. ¿Por qué no produce esto en otras partes del libro?
A pesar de ser un artista profundamente apasionado y obsesivo, este libro me dejo frío.
April 30, 2009
Absolutely fantastic biography and history of Picasso. If you're look for a thorough, in-depth look at his work and how each movement came about, this is the place to start. 2 volumes, gorgeous pictures.
June 20, 2008
Bold and in-depth depiction of his work. Gotta love the rose period.
Read
September 21, 2009Picasso (25 Spring) by Ingo F Walther (2007)
Read
November 6, 2011read or dowanlode
October 8, 2013
Beautiful two-book compilation of Picasso's work and detailed information on individual works.
February 2, 2014
Lots of great paintings that I hadn't seen before and lots more information about his life. In-depth information about Guernica which I need.
December 29, 2014
A great collection of Picasso's work and history at a reasonable price. Recommended.
Read
July 27, 2011This was a super overview of Picasso's life & work. The color reproductions are very good.
March 10, 2013
Text: three stars and a half.
Illustrations: six.
Illustrations: six.
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