Pablo Picasso

by Caws, Mary Ann

• ISBN13: 9781861892478
• ISBN10: 1861892470
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-01
• Publisher: Reaktion Books

Summary

"What is a face, really? Its own photo? Its make-up? Or is it a face as painted by such or such painter? That which is in front? Inside? Behind? And the rest? Doesn't everyone look at himself in his own particular way?" With these words, Pablo Picasso described the revolutionary methods of painting and artistic perspective with which he challenged the ways people and the world were defined. His life was a similarly complex prism of people, places, and ideologies that spanned most of the twentieth century. Acclaimed scholar Mary Ann Caws provides in Pablo Picasso a fresh and concise examination of Picasso's life and art, revisiting the themes that occupied him throughout his life and weaving these themes through his crucial close relationships. Caws embarks on a global journey to retrace the footsteps of Picasso, giving biographical context to his work from Les Demoiselles d'Avignon through Guernica and analyzing the changes and inconsistencies in his oeuvre over the course of the twentieth century. She examines Picasso's attempts to balance various viewpoints, artistic strategies, lovers, and friends, positing the central figures of the Harlequin, the clown, and the acrobat in his art as emblematic of his actions. Gertrude Stein, Max Jacob, Apollinaire, Jean Cocteau, Andre Breton, Salvador Dali, Paul Eluard, and Roland Penrose all make appearances in these pages as Caws examines their influence on Picasso. Caws also delves into Picasso's tumultuous relationships with his lovers Dora Maar, Francoise Gilot, and Jacqueline Roque to understand their effects on his art. A compelling and original portrait, Pablo Picasso offers a lively exploration into the personal networks that both challenged and sustained Picasso.

Author Biography

Mary Ann Caws is the Distinguished Professor of English, French, and Comparative Literature at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is the author of many books including Picasso's Weeping Woman: The Life and Art of Dora Maar; Virginia Woolf: Illustrated Life; Marcel Proust: Illustrated Life; and Robert Motherwell with Pen and Brush.

Table of Contents

Introduction	7	(4)
Arthur C. Danto
Introduction	11	(10)
Picasso the Spaniard	21	(13)
Paris: The Bateau-Lavoir	34	(15)
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and the Beginnings of Cubism	49	(14)
Poetic Cubism	63	(21)
The Ballets Russes	84	(21)
Surrealism	105	(24)
Guernica and the Party	129	(7)
The South of France	136	(14)
Conclusion	150	(7)
References	157	(10)
Bibliography	167	(4)
Acknowledgements	171	(2)
Photo Acknowledgements	173