Olivier widmaier picasso biography richardson

Picasso's grandson spoke to the people who really knew his grandfather - famous contemporaries and leading figures from the worlds of art and the law, as well as ordinary individuals who played a part in his life. The author paints an intimate portrait of the artist and provides a delicate counterbalance to the public perception of the artist.

Olivier widmaier picasso biography richardson

The author describes Picasso's relationships with the women in his life and his children and examines his views on love, sex, and family life, as well as money, politics, power, fame, death, and eternity. This book reveals the story of one man's life and dispels many of the myths that surround the prolific artist and insatiable man.

For the first time, the reader is let into the secrets of the Picasso estate with its eventful history and the incredible value of the inheritance. Genres Biography Nonfiction. Paperback First published December 12, Loading interface About the author. Olivier Widmaier Picasso 8 books 3 followers. Write a Review. Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

The second volume was published in Novemberdealing with the period —, and thus covering the birth of Cubism, followed by the third volume indevoted to the period up towhen Picasso turned Though the fourth volume fell behind schedule it was to be published by Alfred A. Knopf inRichardson spoke of still progressing with it in a February interview with Alain Elkann.

Richardson stated then that he was working daily, "even weekends", on the project with three assistants who were aiding him with writing and research. He stated that he was "up to ", and that he hoped to "get through the war". Also inRichardson was awarded France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in recognition of his contributions to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world.

Richardson died in New York City on 12 Marchat the age of Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. American art historian — For other people with the same name, see John Richardson. LondonEngland. Biography [ edit ]. Youth and education [ edit ].

Liaison with Douglas Cooper [ edit ]. New York [ edit ]. Picasso biography [ edit ]. Olivier was a small child at that time, and although Pablo loved his children and grandchildren dearly he was too ill at the end of his life to be able to spend much time with them. His mother had distanced himself from Pablo as well, which provided further space away from him.

Despite these distances from his children, grandchildren and former lovers Pablo was an immense and overshadowing presence on all of their lives, both while he was alive and in the immediate years after his death. Olivier, in an effort to learn more about his famous grandfather and to address the rumors and misinformation about him that was published, talked to his mother, other relatives and close friends of the artist, in order to understand him as a man, and what he meant to his family.

Olivier also reveals the trauma that some of the women, Olga and Dora in particular, experienced due to Pablo's olivier widmaier picasso biography richardson and mistreatment of them, which carried over to his four children by three different partners. The book is filled with photos of Pablo's works, and especially ones of his home and family.

Despite his dalliances Olivier portrays his grandfather as a more traditional man that one would expect, who loved children and family traditions. The most compelling chapters to me were the first three, as I had much less interest in details about Pablo's children and grandchildren and details about his finances. I purchased 'Picasso: An Intimate Portrait' during the Edinburgh International Book Festival injust before I attended a talk about the artist that featured its author and another who wrote a book about Guernica.

This book is an excellent and balanced addition to the works written about Picasso, which provided me with a greater understanding of and appreciation for his work, and helped me view him more favorably as a man, albeit a flawed and unfaithful one. Karen Ross.