Picasso

It is a widely held view that Picasso’s creative work received a fresh impetus with each new muse in his life. Rather than Picasso’s biography or stylistic phases, this volume pays tribute to the individual fates of the women who left their mark on his life. Personalities like Françoise Gilot and Dora Maar are among those whose entire life and creative work are acknowledged, not just the years they spent at Picasso’s side. The book sketches the life of ten women in the life of the Spanish artist. Picasso's mother, whose maiden name he chose as his artist's name, warned him when he wanted to marry the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova that he would remain married to painting throughout his life. The couple separated in 1935; the reason was Picasso's young muse Marie-Thérèse Walter, who was also soon deposed by Dora Maar. Following various separations, women like the young artist Françoise Gilot also disappeared from Picasso's canvases, but did not vanish entirely. This book pays tribute to them all.