Sunday, September 7, 2008

John Richardson's Picasso

Chatty, mischievious perceptive and thorough, John Richardson's biography of Picasso is a compulsive read. Richardson offers us not only the life of Picasso but also of its social setting. It makes for fascinating cultural history. But will it ever be finished? The third volume came out in 2007 and it only takes us to 1932. There are still another 40 years of life to be covered and Richardson is already 83 years old. It gives you a great urge to look and look again at the great mass of work left by Picasso. He covered and seemingly exhausted an enormous field. His presence in the history of art is daunting. Very few artists today seem to be grappling with his legacy. Hockney is an obvious exception. Check out Richardson's loft in lower Manhattan and his art collection in You Tube: At home with Charlie Rose: John Richardson