Product Description As he magnificently combines meticulous scholarship with irresistible narrative appeal, Richardson draws on his close friendship with Picasso, his own diaries, the collaboration of Picasso's widow Jacqueline, and unprecedented access to Picasso's studio and papers to arrive at a profound understanding of the artist and his work. 800 photos.
Customer Reviews: A life of Picasso vol 1January 24, 2008 Raybaud Charles(Toronto) 6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Great work, done by a real scholar, beautifully written, as fascinating as a novel. Keeps away from myths and tales, impressively documented, meticulously illustrated (too bad it is not in color).
John Richardson's Magisterial Biography of Painter-Genius Picasso begins in Malaga in 1881December 14, 2007 C. M Mills(Knoxville Tennessee) 12 out of 15 found this review helpful
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was born to a mediocre painter and his good wife Maria on October 25, 1881. His family was poor but well connected. One uncle was a priest; another a prominent medical doctor. Picasso's father was easygoing eking out a living as an art teacher. When Pablo was a boy the family moved to Barcelona where his father taught in an art school. His mother was beloved of Pablo who had her tenacity of character and eager desire to learn. His younger sister Conchita died in childhood and he was close to his remaining sister throughout their long lives.
Pablo loved to paint from birth! He did not like formal schooling. He did attend the art school in Madrid but grew bored and left. As a teen he was wild and enjoyed chasing girls and hanging around with his bohemian chums. In these early years Pablo developed his routine throughout life: hard work, lots of sex (often in brothels!and smoking. Picasso drank very little and never had an alcohol problem.
As a young man he made three trips to Paris finally staying for good in the City of Lights on his fourth trip. He became friendly with several artists and writers most notablly the poet Apollinaire. His first true love was Olive Ferdinand a fetching Parisian who was also a minor painter.
Picasso had countless mistresses.
During these early years he went through his "Blue Period" in which he portrayed tragic and erotic figures in gloomy and sad modes. He later entered the "Rose Period" of colorful harlequins, clowns and street folks. He also enjoyed sculpture. His work began to sell.
Instrumental in his success were the dealers he relied upon to majrket his avant garde art. Among the influential people who bought his paintings were the American expatriots Leo and Gertrude Stein. Picasso was popular with Russian buyers. He preferred private sales rather than exhibiting his art alongside other salon artists. It was during these years he produced such masterpieces as "La Vie" "Old Man with a Guitar" and several works portraying androgynous bathers. As the book ends he is on the verge of moving into cubism along with fellow painter Braque.
Richardson does a good job of keeping his text balanced between sapient art assessments and Picasso's personal life. The crammed text is filled with such characters as the Steins, Matisse and the fetching Olive
Ferdinand. We see how Picasso was influenced by such masters from the past as: Ingres, Cezanne, Velasquez and El Greco. Richardson is insistent that we see Picasso as a Spanish artist heavily influenced by his Andalusian roots and the luminaries of Spanish art.
The book is well illustrated with hundreds of black and white photos of Picasso's works and snapshots taken of Picasso and friends. Richardson knew Picasso in his old age and is a brilliant critic of his work.
What kind of man was Picasso? He once told an interviewer "Truth is false!" In other words he was a paradox. He could be kind or cruel. He could abuse lovers forcing them into unnatural sex acts or he could be a gentle lover. He loved and hated Spain. He was apolitical at this early juncture of his career. Picasso hated pretense and liked common people.
He is complex and unique in art history as a protean master of many different types of art. This is the best biography ever written of Picasso and is the first of the four volumes to be published on a 2oth century art icon. Essential.
A Fan Explains His HeroMarch 3, 2008 Professor Donald Mitchell(Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 93,000 Helpful Votes Globally) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Where does genius come from? What are the motives? What are the stars that guide?
Picasso was arguably the most original and influential artist of the 20th century. In volume one of four planned volumes (three of which have been produced to date), John Richardson collaborates with Marilyn McCully to establish the detailed record of how Picasso developed as a man and an artist through the early Rose period. The book is made richer by Richardson's friendship with the artist and his access to Picasso's memories of key events. But he doesn't slavishly accept Picasso's version (except in damning Matisse as inferior to Picasso) but rather checks out the different versions and picks what seems to make the most sense.
Picasso's fanatic desire to succeed was fueled in part by his contempt for his father's failed career as an artist and his father's views that Picasso should follow in his footsteps. Picasso also needed to be treated as special, more than most of us. Groveling before exploitive dealers built a lifelong passion to be in charge. Picasso also knew that Paris was where he had to shine and suffered greatly to make his success there. His struggles will impress you.
Where the book is unequaled in my experience is in tracking down the sources of Picasso's images, gestures, styles, and innovations. The book is filled with black and white images from the works of other artists, Picasso's notebooks, photographs of the scenes and subjects, and related works that Picasso did. From these, you get a better sense of Picasso as a synthesizer of styles and modes.
In closely examining Picasso's work from these years, it's easy to develop superficial impressions of what sort of man did those paintings. For instance, the paintings of women show someone who feels compelled to alternately adore and dominate women . . . especially sexually. Learning later that he locked his mistress into the studio even on the hottest days when he left adds to that impression.
The book provides other powerful insights of this sort by relating the heavy use of opium by Picasso and his circle of artist friends during the Blue period. A lot of the models seem stoned in those paintings. Could it be that they were? Picasso loved to paint the circus performers and one of his first mistresses was one. Could it be that those performers are really emotional self-portraits? The book isn't clear on that point, but the possibility of the interpretation will occur to you.
A few central mysteries are left undeveloped. Why did Picasso stick so long with styles that he later abandoned and which didn't sell well when he was very poor? Picasso admitted to Richardson that the Blue and Rose periods had been mistakes. Why did Picasso slow down his production at times when he had contracts and shows upcoming? How did Picasso incorporate his love for poetry into his paintings?
At times Richardson is over the top in his fawning. Here's an example. Picasso is described as clearly one of the great poets of the 20th century, but Richardson doesn't reveal any evidence . . . nor was Picasso doing any poetry writing at the time of this volume. I suspect that the fawning was the price of admission for his access which rewards us in other ways.
Ultimately, the book's main weakness is that the images are not in color. Fortunately, color is less important to Picasso's work during this period than in later periods. Perhaps there will be another edition at some point that will bring the full dimensions of the work to bear at least for the masterpieces.
Enjoy your immersion in Picasso's chaotic world.
The definitive Picasso biographyMay 10, 2009 Claude Reich(Florianopolis, Brazil and Paris, France) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The first volume of John Richardson's monumental Life of Picasso (so far, three volumes have been published), this book is a thoroughly documented and elegantly written account of Picasso's early years in Malaga, Barcelona and Paris (up to 1907 and the inception of his masterpiece "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"). Following a strictly chronological pattern, the text is accompanied by numerous illustrations (all in black and white) of every single work quoted by the author (whether or not by Picasso; there are even small portraits by Picasso's mistress Fernande Olivier, who appears to have been more than a merely talented artist). A must-read and an unsurpassed biography of the Spanish master, as Richardson (himself a friend of Picasso's) had first-hand access to a trove of unpublished documents and a privileged relationship with Picasso's heirs.
A Study in GreatnessJanuary 30, 2010 Elio Lopez(Tampa, Fl USA) This first part to three part series Mr. Richardson has written on Picasso is a preview of the greatness of the volumes to come. Mr. Richardson has a flair for bringing to life the times and events that led to the greatest revolution in the art world that has yet to be matched to this day. Mr. Richardson's prose is very well written and brings to life the world at that time, (1881-1906). The book ends just at the eve of 1907 and Picasso standing at the brink of revolutionizing the whole of the entire Western Art world. The research is exhaustive and very well documented. The author shatters many myths and inaccuracies previously put forth by the artist, (Mr. Richardson was a personal friend and confidant), and previous biographers. What emerges is a very detailed analysis of this great artist and the events and links that led to what we call art today. If I have one negative criticism of Mr. Richardson's writing is that he, at times, will lapse into a phrase in either French or German that is not translated for the reader. However, in today's world this is a small issue with translators on the internet easily available. And to be fair, the instances of such are not the norm, but the exception. I highly recommend this and the two following books which I own. I, for one, eagerly await the fourth and perhaps final volume in the series. If you like Picasso, or you're just a student of art, do yourself a favor and buy this book.
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