Picasso By Picasso Artists By Themselves

by Rachel Barnes

'Everyone wants to understand art. Why not try to understand the songs of a bird? Why does one love the night, flowers, everything around one, without trying to understand them? But in the case of a painting people have to understand. If only they would realize above all that an artist works out of necessity, that he himself is only a trifling bit of the world, and that no more importance should be attached to him than to plenty of other things which please us in the world, though we can't explain them.' Picasso made this statement to Christian Zervos in 1935, by which time he was internationally recognized as one of the greatest of all modern painters. His words reflect his response to critics and public, who pestered him for 'the truth' about his paintings. In this book sketches, drawings and, above all, a wealth of superb color reproductions of the artist's paintings are presented alongside extended excerpts from his writings thus allowing the reader to absorb directly the artist's own thoughts and and feelings about his work, unhampered by the critical judgements of others.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1993

About the author

Rachel Barnes is an art historian. She has written for The Guardian and The Independent.