From 1950 to 1962, John Richardson lived near Picasso in France and was a friend of the artist. After Picasso's death, his widow Jacqueline collaborated in the preparation of this work, giving Richardson access to Picasso's studio and papers.
Picasso, une vie Séries
Cette biographie complète plonge dans la vie et l'œuvre de l'un des artistes les plus influents du XXe siècle. Fort d'un accès sans précédent à la vie personnelle, à l'atelier et aux documents de l'artiste, l'auteur offre une exploration intime et détaillée de son parcours créatif. La série mêle une analyse artistique éclairée à des anecdotes personnelles, présentant un portrait aux multiples facettes de l'homme derrière les chefs-d'œuvre emblématiques. C'est une lecture essentielle pour quiconque s'intéresse à l'histoire de l'art, à la créativité et à l'histoire captivante du génie artistique.
Ordre de lecture recommandé
"My work is like a diary," Picasso once told John Richardson, who lived near the artist in Provence for a decade and became a trusted friend. This relationship allowed Richardson to observe and document how Picasso's art mirrored his life. With continued access to the artist's studios and archives through Picasso's widow, Richardson is uniquely positioned to write an insightful biography that transcends sensationalism and delves into the traumas and obsessions fueling Picasso's genius. He adeptly navigates the contradictions surrounding the artist, highlighting themes of ambivalence. Richardson reveals how Picasso's courage and terror, misogyny and tenderness, generosity and thrift, superstition and skepticism, cynicism and sentiment are reflected in his work's conflicts and paradoxes. His keen eye for the complexities of Picasso's art, combined with extensive cultural knowledge, illustrates how the artist drew from the past and the imaginations of his poet friends to forge a revolutionary synthesis. This first volume of Richardson's detailed four-volume study covers Picasso's life up to age twenty-five, detailing his struggle against his father's artistic legacy, his early successes in Barcelona and Paris, and the subsequent despair. It culminates in Picasso's realization of his role as the modern movement's messiah, supported by around nine hundred illustrations that vividly trace his artistic evolution.
A Life of Picasso
- 512pages
- 18 heures de lecture
The first volume of this biography emphasized Picasso's Spanish roots from Malaga to Barcelona. This second volume covers ten pivotal years of Picasso's life. It describes his relationship with Cocteau, his affair with Fernande Olivier, and the influence of women on his art.
The author introduces material on the artist's early training in religious art, and establishes his passion for Barcelona and Catalan "modernisme". There are also portraits of Apollinaire, Max Jacob and Gertrude Stein who made up "The Picasso Gang". The book won the 1991 Whitbread biography award.