Examines the issue of whether Picasso brought new life to the works of Old Masters through his use of pastiche, or whether his art is a counterfeit that copies the styles and themes of others

Was Picasso a modern Midas who not only turned the trash of everyday life into the gold of Cubist collage but also gave new value to the work of Old Masters? Or was he a monster counterfeiter who mercilessly raided the styles of others? In The Picasso Papers, Rosalind Krauss suggests that the reason we still ask these questions is that modernism itself is a hall of mirrors in which "counterfeit" and "genuine" both reflect the same condition. Krauss brings Picasso's pastiche of other artists brilliantly into focus as the "sublimated" underbelly of Cubism, refashioned in the bright, clean style of Picasso's neoclassicism—a defense that is its own form of practicing the forbidden.

Picasso's artistic output is astonishing in its ambition and variety. Picasso and Paper examines a particular aspect of his legendary capacity for invention: his imaginative and original use of paper. He used it as a support for autonomous works, including etchings, prints and drawings, as well as for his papier-collé experiments of the 1910s and his revolutionary three-dimensional "constructions," made of cardboard, paper and string. Sometimes his use of paper was simply determined by circumstance: in occupied Paris, where art supplies were in short supply, he ripped up paper tablecloths to make works of art. And of course his works on paper comprise the preparatory stages of some of his very greatest paintings. With reproductions of nearly 400 works of art and a series of insightful new texts by leading authorities on the artist, this sumptuous study reveals the myriad ways in which Picasso explored the potential of paper at different stages of his career. Picasso and Paper is published for an exhibition organized by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, and the Cleveland Museum of Art in partnership with the Musée national Picasso-Paris. The legendary life and career of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) spanned nearly the entire 20th century and ushered in some of its most significant artistic revolutions.

Publikacja z okazji wystawy w Museum of Modern Art, 29 marzec - 28 maj 2000.

Pablo Picasso redefined artwork throughout his extraordinary career, becoming indisputably one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. In this evocative volume, the artist’s granddaughter, Diana Widmaier Picasso, curates the 100 quintessential, unique works that define the evolution of this illustrious artist, creating a stunning compendium of pieces that simply could never all be acquired by a single collector. Casual art lovers know his Cubist work and the Guernica, but Picasso: The Impossible Collection manages to go deeper, revealing and revisiting some less ubiquitous yet equally powerful paintings, prints, sculptures and photographs from Picasso’s astonishing oeuvre.

Picasso Black and White: Examines the artist's lifelong exploration of a black-and-white leitmotif through paintings and a selection of sculptures and works on paper. Picasso continued the tradition of engaging the color black that had been employed throughout a centuries-long history of Spanish painting by fellow artists José de Ribera, Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Zurbarán, and Francisco de Goya. Moreover, he made highly effective use of isolated black, white, and gray hues in a nod to monochromatic grisaille painting and to drawing, line, and form. As this volume attests, the recurrent motif of black and white appears throughout Picasso's oeuvre, including his blue and rose periods, his investigations into Cubism and Surrealism, his interpretations of historical subject studies for his celebrated painting 'Guernica', World War II, and an homage to old masters, as well as the powerful paintings of his last years. Featuring reproductions of more than 150 works, this book examines the extraordinary complexity and power of these expressive artworks, which purge color in order to highlight their formal structure. Including essays by leading Picasso scholars, this book is a unique and coherent perspective on one of the world's most innovative and influential artists.

A rare look at the exceptional works on paper from private collections by the master of modern art. “There’s nothing more difficult than a line.” –Pablo Picasso Picasso: Seven Decades of Drawing surveys Pablo Picasso’s prodigious career as a draftsman, including over 40 examples on loan from private collections spanning nearly 70 years of the artist’s long and celebrated career. The book showcases drawings in a wide range of media, from works in charcoal and crayon to colored pencil, collage or papiers collés, graphite, gouache, ink, pastel, and watercolor. Some of the drawings on loan are rarely on view and they provide insight into the evolution of his iconic paintings, such as Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and Guernica, while others stand alone as virtuoso, independent works, highlighting Picasso’s mastery of line, form, and medium. The book ultimately examines how drawing serves as the vital thread connecting all of Picasso’s art.