In The Cubist Rebel, 1907-1916, the second volume of his Life of Picasso, John Richardson reveals the young Picasso in the Baudelairean role of "the painter of modern life"--a role that stipulated the brothel as the noblest subject for a modern artist. Hence his great breakthrough painting, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, with which this book opens. As well as portraying Picasso as a revolutionary, Richardson analyzes the more compassionate side of his genius. The misogynist of posthumous legend turns out to have been surprisingly vulnerable--more often sinned against than sinning. Heartbroken at the death of his mistress Eva, Picasso tried desperately to find a wife. Richardson recounts the untold story of how his two great loves of 1915-17 successively turned him down. These disappointments, as well as his horror at the outbreak of World War I and the wounds it inflicted on his closest friends, Braque and Apollinaire, shadowed his painting and drove him off to work for the Ballets Russes in Rome and Naples--back to the ancient world. In this volume we see the artist's life and work during the crucial decade of 1907-17, a period during which Picasso and Georges Braque devised what has come to be known as cubism and in doing so engendered modernism. Thanks to the author's friendship with Picasso and some of the women in his life, as well as Braque and their dealer, D. H. Kahnweiler, and other associates, he has had access to untapped sources and unpublished material. In The Cubist Rebel, Richardson also introduces us to key figures in Picasso's life who have been totally overlooked by previous biographers. Among these are the artist's Chilean patron, collector, and mother figure, Eugenia Errázuriz, as well as two fiancées: the loveable Geneviève Laporte and the promiscuous bisexual painter Irène Lagut. By harnessing biography to art history, he has managed to crack the code of cubism more successfully than any of his predecessors. And by bringing fresh light to bear on the artist's private life, he has succeeded in coming up with a new view of this paradoxical man and of his paradoxical work. Never before have Picasso's revolutionary vision, technical versatility, prodigious achievements, and, not least, his sardonic humor been analyzed with such clarity.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
As good as volume I The second volume of John Richardson's monumental Picasso biography, this book focuses on the inception and rise of the Cubist movement, immediately following the production of the iconic "Demoiselles d'Avignon" in 1907. It is as lively written as volume I and is full of anecdotes, some of them previously unpublished, black and white illustrations of every single work discussed by the author (some in private collections and therefore rarely seen), and pictures of Picasso's friends, entourage and places he... more info
fantastic book This is the real deal when it comes to deep, satisfying biographies. Written by a true expert, it is also ful of life and lively details and manages to bring the enigma of Picasso closer to our understanding. I cannot compliment the author enough on bringing forth such a treat.
Picasso : The Cubist Rebel is the second volume in the projected four volume magisterial biography by John Richardson Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was an amorous Andalusian who spent most of his life in Paris. Picasso is the greatest artistic genius of the twentieth century. In this second volume of his sine qua non biography of the complex painter his friend John Richardson does a superb job of looking at his life from 1917-1932. The small print text of over 400 pages is complimented by the works of the master which are being discussed in the text. I love this technique! It makes Richardson's astute analysis of the artwork... more info
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