Pablo Picasso: women, bullfights, old masters

Over the seven decades of Pablo Picasso’s artistic career, there were subjects to which he returned again and again. These include women, bulls, and the Old Masters as well as political and literary themes, circus people, mythical creatures, and interiors. In order to further explore his changing personal perspective on these subjects, this large format, 300-page book showcases Pablo Picasso’s graphic work in chapters structured according to these recurring themes. Women, Bulls, Old Masters presents 200 graphic prints, lithographs, drawings, and collages from Pablo Picasso’s artistic beginnings in the early 1900s to his late works from the 1960s. Ranging from black and white to colorful, the artwork represents his various styles from classic to cubistic to surrealistic. The included texts not only examine the work in a historical context, but also reevaluate it from a contemporary point of view. This book juxtaposes a selection of Pablo Picasso’s graphic works with the classical paintings that inspired them. The visual dialog that results reveals interesting parallels and the clear influence of Old Masters such as Rembrandt, Cranach, and Goya on Picasso’s work. Women, Bulls, Old Masters is rounded out by a biographic chronology, a detailed list of Pablo Picasso’s artworks, and a bibliography. The book is edited by Dr. Anita Beloubek-Hammer, curator at the Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) in Berlin. In 1912, the Kupferstichkabinett became one of the first museums to acquire an artwork by Pablo Picasso. Today, it holds one of the world’s most important collections of his graphic work.