Picasso and his women;

by Jean-Paul Crespelle

The eminent European art critic and Historian,Jean-Paul Crespelle wrote this book during the last years of Picasso's life and interviewed him many times.Based on material the author collected over a period of 35 years,Picasso and His Women offers an intimate and revealing portrait of Picasso and the seven women who played crucial roles in shaping his life's work.It authoritatively demonstrates how the beginning of each new liaison corresponded with a new and often revolutionary period in his development.Originaly published in France as Picasso Les Femmes,Les Amis,L'Oeuvre.

223 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[BeccaAudra Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. Kind of dull in places where I didn't know the writers or artists the author was sketching for me. I mainly read it to get a sense of Picasso's domestic life, and at points the narrative is pretty patronising as you would expect from the era. Olga is insulted a few times, 'probably the worst pictures he has ever produced but which satisfied his wife's conventional tastes'. Jean-Paul does call Picasso's meeting with Marie-Therese 'it was almost a case of baby snatching'. Kind of strange that he then follows that up with a character summary of two adjectives on Marie-Therese. But overall it was okay, interesting and good to get an angle on Picasso before I read one of his wife's accounts.