This arrived today. It’s the third instalment in what may have been intended to be a complete history of Picasso’s prodigious output.
Although Josep Palau i Fabre, poet, author and Picasso nut, lived to the ripe old age of 90, he didn’t get much further than this (there might be a final follow up), which ends relatively early in Picasso’s lengthy career, in 1926.
The choice of cover image is not my favourite, from the many potential alternatives in this, as ever, very voluminous selection. There are 1800 images, 700 in colour! But the overall quality of the book is in keeping with the first two instalments.
What I love most about Picasso, in addition to that portion of the work that meets my own personal aesthetic preferences, is Picasso’s sheer artistic fecundity. It’s truly astonishing how he not only works through ideas in whole series of variants, but how freely he moves between different styles and approaches, even mediums.
This aspect of his volcanic output makes him almost unique, in my experience, both in modern art and, indeed, art of all the ages. The only other artist that comes close – as far as I’m aware? – might be David Hockney.
Of the three volumes I now have, I’m inclined to think that, perhaps, the first two have more art I really like. But there’s still an immense amount I love. But, as I already said, as much as the qualities of individual works themselves, it’s the sheer life energy manifested in Picasso’s massively multifaceted output that is, in and of itself, very compelling.
I’ve included a number of images of artworks I like. I did think about including some of the stuff I don’t like. There’s plenty of it! The only thing in that line that I’ve included pictorially is the photo of bizarre theatrical costumes, including a kind of ‘pantomime horse’!
This isn’t a review of the text of this book (which I’ve only dipped into thus far). As I’ve said elsewhere, about the other two books i Fabre wrote, about earlier phases of Picasso’s life and work, my primary interest is predominantly visual.
And as with those two former titles, I do love this one. I feel a bit mean giving this four and a half and not five stars. But I decided to do so, on the grounds that I slightly prefer more of the art works in the first two instalments of this very detailed and comprehensive series of large plush art books.