Picasso and Portraiture /anglais

by rubin william

The first 100 years of modern art witnessed the popularization of photography, the decline of traditional patronage, and an increasing emphasis on abstraction in painting, all of which threatened the survival of portraiture as a genre. It continued to flourish because modern painters - Picasso foremost amongst them - sought and found meaningful new ways to portray the human face. This book focuses on this part of the artist's oevre, reproducing works in oil, gouache, pastel, charcoal and other media to illustrate the solutions Picasso invented to solve the problem of the modernist portrait.

Genres: Art

520 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huge ~500 page coffee-table style book, with lots of text too. I knew I liked Picasso, but now realize I love Picasso's work. It is incredible how consistent he is with his inconsistency. I like how this book has portraits shown with actual photographs of the persons next to it. They really do match.

Easy 5*

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1996, when I was only 20, I attended an exhibit of Picasso's works at MoMA. My first experience at this museum and my first exposure to Picasso. Even without seeing his works, I had already judged that I did not like him - obviously part of my immature experience in life feeling that I needed to proclaim my identity by expouding an opinion regarding something that I had no knowledge of nor any exposure too. This exhibit changed me forever. I was fascinated by this man even if I didn't completely comprehend his works; I felt intrigued to learn more. And so began my exploration into the world of art. I came across this book months later and decided it was just what I needed to unlock the mystery behind this genius. I am still as much in love with Picasso 16 years later as I was then. There is so much to explore about him. This book only uncovers one facet of his overwhelming oeuvre of work that spans almost 70 years. Although there were a few essays that I felt really were disengaged from Picasso's idealogy and overall philosophy of his work - I thoroughly enjoyed this book on my second read, some many years later, and more educated on the work and life of Pablo. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in exploring this facet of Picasso's works - which lean heavily upon his personal relationships, and mostly his amorous ones. As always, to understand Picasso's art you must understand the man - they are one.