Pablo Picasso: 1881-1973

I bought this book to research Picasso and his artwork. It gave me so much information, not only about his artwork, but also about the genius behind the artwork, and his influences. There are sections of Picasso's drawings, graphic art, and scultures, which I never knew much about. The book contains a timeline of Picasso's life and all the major events that influenced his art and techniques. This is an interesting book with many sketches, scuptures, and 56 color images of Picasso's work. Although there are many pictures, I felt that some key pieces were left out of the book. Other than that, I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to know interesting facts behind the genius of the century.

I'm a huge Picasso fan, so this book was a must. It is such a great deal for a large hardcover book with tons of information about Picasso and his artwork. It is written in chronological order of Picasso's life, and shows his growth and maturity as an artist. I love the huge color images of his artwork, and the study sketches he used for creating some of his best work. There is a timeline of his life and the events that shaped his way of expressing himself. What a wonderful book about one of the greatest and most recognizable artists of our time.

It is no small feat to gather the whole of Picasso's career in one, easy to read (and to carry) volume. This has been done through this book, the most comprehensive sum on the artist available on the market, for a reasonable price. Lavishly illustrated (many rarely-seen works, owned by private collectors, alongside well-known masterpieces housed in museums all over the world), it covers every single period from the very beginning (paperworks from the early 1890's) to the much criticized (and, today, highly regarded) late paintings of the early 1970's. If there is one book on Picasso, this is it. The text follows a chrological pattern and is full of technical, historical and anecdotical details. Note: the new edition is divided into two volumes (same text and illustrations as the one I reviewed above).

A very successful introduction to Picasso's work and life! Whether you just want to admire his paintings or try to learn from him, this book is a good choice. Some people don't understand Picasso and are insulted by astronomic prices of his "childish" looking paintings. In this book Ingo F. Walther sheds light on the phenomenon of this genius by presenting all the phases of painter's development that naturally resulted in the spontaneous expressions of his imagery. Or with the artist's words: "When I was as old as these children, I could draw like Raphael. But it took me a lifetime to learn to draw like them!" Thus we can follow Picasso from his youth, blue and rose periods to his invention of cubism and all the way to his late works. In addition there are chapters on his sculptures, posters and ceramics. The book also gives a rich selection of interesting aspects of Picasso's life. An enormous publicity was haunting him as well as helping him test his brave inventions. Whatever he touched turned to gold. When he finally grew tired of publicity and decided to move from Paris to a provincial village of Ménerbes, he was given a chalet in exchange for a still life.