PABLO PICASSO

by Pierre Cabanne ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 24, 1977

Cabanne is only the latest biographer to be overwhelmed by Picasso's precociousness, panache, intensity, vitality, magnetism; and not the first to try to sift fact from legend. But so assiduously does he assemble his evidence and compile his dossier that every scrap of information becomes, in effect, a holy relic. This can be a benefit when the matter at hand is Picasso's envy of/admiration for Matisse (and his niggardliness toward all but mediocre artists); his bouts and reconciliations with Gertrude Stein; his much-disputed indebtedness to African and other ""primitive"" art; his posthumous exploitation (as Cabanne construes it) by AndrÉ Malraux. It grows wearisome, however, as the years pass and worshipful pilgrims replace the companions-in-art of his youth and especially as Fernande gives way to Olga, Marie-ThÉrèse, Dora, Francoise, Jacqueline . . . to mention only the official ""wives."" ""New girl, new style,"" Cabanne writes, aping the ubiquitous Jaime Sabartes--though his observations disprove this simplism (even as it discredits him as a critic). With women, Picasso is the Ogre: ""to deceive, humiliate, disappoint, all added up to the same thing--to destroy."" Thus Cubist distortion of her features as passion for a woman wanes. It is too pat; and so, finally, is Cabanne's treatment of Picasso's politics: ""He who could be cruel and cynical with friends . . . was touched to the quick when Mankind was concerned. To him, the tragedy of his country involved the fate of Everyman."" Soppy, clumsy, over-colored--albeit a contribution to the chronology and context.

Pub Date: Oct. 24, 1977

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1977

Categories: NONFICTION