Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Picasso

Rate this book
For more than a generation, Gertrude Stein's Paris home at 27 rue de Fleurus was the center of a glittering coterie of artists and writers, one of whom was Pablo Picasso. In this intimate and revealing memoir, Stein tells us much about the great man (and herself) and offers many insights into the life and art of the 20th century's greatest painter.
Mixing biological fact with artistic and aesthetic comments, she limns a unique portrait of Picasso as a founder of Cubism, an intimate of Appollinaire, Max Jacob, Braque, Derain, and others, and a genius driven by a ceaseless quest to convey his vision of the 20th century. We learn, for example, of the importance of his native Spain in shaping Picasso's approach to art; of the influence of calligraphy and African sculpture; of his profound struggle to remain true to his own vision; of the overriding need to empty himself of the forms and ideas that welled up within him.
Stein's close relationship with Picasso furnishes her with a unique vantage point in composing this perceptive and provocative reminiscence. It will delight any admirer of Picasso or Gertrude Stein; it is indispensable to an understanding of modern art.

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1938

Loading interface...
Loading interface...

About the author

Gertrude Stein

293 books1,060 followers
Gertrude Stein was an American writer who spent most of her life in France, and who became a catalyst in the development of modern art and literature. Her life was marked by two primary relationships, the first with her brother Leo Stein, from 1874-1914, and the second with Alice B. Toklas, from 1907 until Stein's death in 1946. Stein shared her salon at 27 rue de Fleurus, Paris, first with Leo and then with Alice. Throughout her lifetime, Stein cultivated significant tertiary relationships with well-known members of the avant garde artistic and literary world of her time.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
437 (27%)
4 stars
504 (31%)
3 stars
481 (29%)
2 stars
134 (8%)
1 star
48 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 164 reviews
Profile Image for Teresa.
1,492 reviews
May 22, 2016
A norte-americana Gertrude Stein e o espanhol Pablo Picasso conheceram-se e foram amigos durante um tempo em que ambos viviam em Paris. Zangaram-se, em 1927, quando morreu o amigo comum, Juan Gris.

Picasso é um ensaio muito interessante sobre a vida e a obra do pintor, a sua inspiração, evolução e influências: o período azul, rosa, arlequim; o nascimento do cubismo; a arte negra; a caligrafia; as colagens; a escultura; etc.
Gertrude Stein chega, não ao fim da história de Picasso "mas ao fim desta história da sua história.", em 1937 quando Picasso - depois de dois anos sem pintar e em que se dedicou a escrever poesia - encontrou a sua verdadeira cor, o cinzento, com Guernica .

Trata-se de um excelente ensaio que, sinteticamente - e "colorido" por alguns pequenos diálogos entre Stein e Picasso -, ajuda a compreender um pouco a obra do pintor.

No "inverno de 1906 posei para Picasso; oitenta sessões e no fim apagou a cabeça. Disse-me que já não me podia ver e foi para Espanha. Quando regressou, Picasso pintou a cabeça sem voltar a ver-me e deu-me o quadro. Para mim, sou eu. É a única reprodução de mim que não deixou de ser eu."

description
Profile Image for Silvia Sirea.
152 reviews122 followers
January 15, 2017
In queste poche pagine di Gertrude Stein viene raccontata una fetta di vita di Pablo Picasso. Lei, che l'ha conosciuto e ha potuto assistere al modo in cui Picasso è diventato Picasso, con una prosa che sembra scritta di getto, immediata e che dà l'impressione di essere vagamente confusionaria, riesce a trasmettere tutta la vitalità e la vigorosità che ha contraddistinto uno dei maggiori artisti del Novecento.
Gertrude Stein, sua contemporanea, è stata forse la prima a percepire il genio che era in lui e l'entusiasmo della sua narrazione dimostra quanto ci abbia saputo vedere lungo.

"Il creatore è tanto contemporaneo da dare l'impressione d'essere in anticipo sulla propria generazione; per rilassarsi, nella vita di ogni giorno, desidera vivere con le cose d'ogni giorno del tempo passato, non vuole vivere in modo così contemporaneo quanto i suoi contemporanei, i quali non sentono in modo particolarmente acuto di essere contemporanei."
Profile Image for George Ilsley.
Author 12 books267 followers
June 28, 2022
Now I've read this it's true I even have a copy. Picasso did a portrait he did many portraits, he was the first to do my portrait and there I am on the cover. That is me and that is him and there we are together. And Picasso is inside as well inside he breathes because I have him inside. He is inside with me and there I am outside of him being inside. When light refracts the light has meaning and the many meanings of light are not lost. Refraction is not forgetting. The way to see is not to see but to forget, forget what cannot be seen and just to see what there is to see. That is the way to see and Picasso had his way and I had mine.

Picasso was many things and many of those things were Picasso and only Picasso. He didn't invent cubism but he invented Picasso and then he forgot Picasso. Picasso was a genius and believe me I know a genius when I see one. If I know one thing it is genius.
Profile Image for Uroš Đurković.
697 reviews163 followers
January 27, 2022
Veli Gertruda da su tri razloga postojala za nastanak kubizma:
1) „kompozicija – promena živućeg se proširila i svaka je stvar bila podjednako značajna kao bilo koja druga”;
2) „počelo je da slabi verovanje u ono što su oči videle, odnosno, verovanje u stvarnost nauke ”;
3) „ram života, potreba da slika postoji u svom ramu, da ostane u svom ramu, više nije postojala. Slika koja ostaje u svom ramu je bila stvar koja je uvek postojala, a sada su slike počele da napuštaju svoje ramove, a to je takođe stvorilo neophodnu potrebu za kubizmom.”

(A i vrlo je zanimljivo uspostavila vezu između pejzaža i kubizma:
„ali španska arhitektura uvek preseca linije pejzaža, a to je ono što je osnova kubizma: čovekovo delo nije u harmoniji sa pejzažom, ono mu se suprotstavlja”)

„Pikaso” Gertrude Stajn je, dakle, literarni kubizam na delu – više specifičan ogled o umetnosti, nego promišljanje o Pikasovom delu. I začuđujuće retko ovde znate na čemu ste – nije jasno ni kad je i da li je uopšte Gertruda ironična, ukoliko jeste, zašto i u odnosu na šta. Posebno u tom svetlu golicaju misli različite sumanute generalizacije ili čak netačnosti – od toga da je Prvi svetski rat kubizam, u kome više nema jednog čoveka okruženog velikim brojem ljudi, već je kompozicija bez početka i kraja, gde je svaki ugao podjednako značajan, preko toga da su Rusi i Španci jedini Evropljani kojima Azija nije strana, a da Španci do toga da su Arapi „stvorili civilizaciju i kulturu za crnce”?! Ipak, priznajem da mi je bila simpatična misao kako su Španci zbog svog manjka organizacije i Amerikanci zbog svog viška organizacije bili prirodni zasnivači dvadesetog veka.

Više puta se spominje kako je Pikaso nosio u sebi neophodnost pražnjenja i da je on samo težio da dolazi do tog potpunog, pražnjenja, ali, eto, ne može da isprazni Španca iz sebe i to mu je kletva genijalnosti. I mada mi je metafora pražnjenja u kontekstu umetničkog stvaranja oduvek bila odurna i otužno neoriginalna, jasno mi je šta je Gertruda želela da kaže i imala je pravo. Telo, pokret, buka, nemir, ritam, otkrivanje likovnosti prvobitnih kultura, to je azbuka modernosti, pričali mi o Pikasu ili Rastku Petroviću. Pikaso je tu amblematičan – menjanje njegovog likovnog jezika je samo po sebi priča o mogućnostima modernosti, a možda i o lepoti:

„Lepota realizacije je lepota kojoj uvek treba više vremena da se prikaže kao lepota nego što je to stvarnoj lepoti potrebno. Lepota realizacije tokom svog stvaranja nije lepota, ona je samo tada lepota kada stvari koje je prate jesu stvorene unutar njenog lika. Tad je ona priznata kao lepota zahvaljujući njenom kvalitetu plodnosti, to je najlepša od svih lepota, lepšta od lepote smirenosti. Eto.”

Mnogo je u ovoj nevelikoj knjizi glomaznog, mnogo je ponavljanja, kubizam pulsira, a Gertruda je i dalje i enigma i figura koja je temeljno obeležila istoriju umetnosti. Ujedno i u centru centra (a šta je drugo tad Pariz bio nego to) i u večnom budžaku andergraunda. Svima znana, a retko čitana, još ređe razumevana. Zaista je malo ko tako upečatljiv, u svakom smislu.

Zaista vredi baciti pogled na ovo i još više na „Tender Buttons” i maštati da putnik iz budućnosti donese odgovore na misteriju teksta.
Profile Image for Mohammad Ali Shamekhi.
1,096 reviews274 followers
October 15, 2015

با ارفاق سه ستاره

کلا کتاب رو کتاب جالبی یافتم. اینکه جریان تحولات و رفت و آمدهای فکری و هنری پیکاسو رو بدون اطناب و خسته کردن خواننده حکایت می کرد، خواندنیش کرده بود

اینکه اشتاین بر عنصر اسپانیایی پیکاسو تأکید می کنه و اسپانیا رو - در کنار آمریکا و تا حدی روسیه - از بقیه ی کشورهای اروپایی جدا می کنه، اشاره ی جالبیه. همچنین تأکیدی که بر تمایز قاطع قرن نوزدهم و بیستم - و تغییر کمپوزیسیون از حالت متمرکز به حالت پراکنده - می کنه، حذابیتی درش هست. اما نباید فراموش کرد اینگونه نگاه ذات گرایانه به چیزهایی مثل "اسپانیا" یا "قرن بیستم" خالی از تسامح نیست

نقایص و انتقادات

البته عقب جلو رفتن های زمانی کتاب به نظرم یه نقصه، هر چند با حرف تو حرف آوردنش مشکلی ندارم - یعنی مشکل در هم ریختن توالی زمانی بحث ها است؛ مثلا بحث در مورد یک دوره یه جا متمرکز نیست بلکه یهو وسط توضیح یه دوره ی دیگه یک تیکه در مورد یه دوره ی دیگه ذکر شده

مشکل دیگه ی این کتاب اینه که نقاشی ها رو برده آخر کتاب - حداقل در یک نسخه ی انگلیسی که من دیدم اینگونه نبود؛ بهتر بود نقاشی های مربوط آنجا که بحثشان است آورده می شد. همچنین نقاشی ها سیاه و سفید چاپ شده اند؛ حال اگر بدانیم که مثلا حرف از دوره ی آبی یا صورتی است و منظور غلبه ی این یا آن رنگ است می فهمیم که عکس رنگی چقدر ضرورت داشت

در مورد روانی متن ترجمه نمی شه گفت ترجمه ی خوبیه اما ترجمه ی بدی هم نیست. ابهاماتی جاهایی هست که بیشتر به نظر می آد مفهومی باشند تا مربوط ترجمه
Profile Image for Manday.
309 reviews33 followers
February 12, 2010
This is a strange half-biography of Picasso written by one of his friends and cohort of artists. I have always struggled to understand some of the more academic (or should I say more precocious) forms of artistic analysis, and this falls firmly into that category. I dislike that Gertrude Stein groups people entirely by their nationality and generalizes everything - Spain is THIS, Spaniards do THIS, Russians do THIS. I disagree with is quite a bit, and find it borders on offensive, as if we are all just our nationality. The book also fails to follow a clear timeline, jumping back and forth back and forth in a strange manner, you think she has finished covering one period and all of the sudden you are discussing it again. I can't say I am a fan of the writing style either. Overall, not a good read for me.
Profile Image for Ben Loory.
Author 4 books711 followers
November 29, 2017
I love the part where the burglars break in and steal all Picasso’s linens but leave his paintings behind
Profile Image for Dottie Suggs.
194 reviews10 followers
February 13, 2014
It is well known that Gertrude Stein was not a great writer, but she did have very close contact with many struggling artists during the great art movement in Paris. She welcomed and supported Hemingway, Matisse, Picasso and many others in her home. She sat for paintings, collected their art, read their works, and had them to her house for meals and long discussions. For those insights, this book is well worth reading. Some of her abstract thoughts are difficult to follow. I am sure she believed herself to be clever and generous in the knowledge she presents here. Short, fast read with made images of Picasso's paintings presented in chronological order. I will keep this book in my Picasso section. Come read it some afternoon and you will see. We can discuss this book and art over a nice glass of wine.
Profile Image for Özgür Atmaca.
Author 2 books75 followers
April 22, 2020
Biyografi olmasına rağmen sanat tarihine fazlaca eğilmiş ve tüm bunları sıkıcı olmayan cümlelerle aktarmış. Yazar , Picasso’nun arkadaşı olduğu için de normalde biyografilerde karşılaşmayacağınız anılar ve olaylar da kitabı ilginç hale getirmiş diyebilirim.
Profile Image for Stephanie.
256 reviews
January 8, 2019
My God, this book is a heaping stack of pretention. Ok, first off, I think the author forgot this book was supposed to be about Picasso and not just her spouting off her opinions about him. It's mostly her droning on and on, trying to sound clever by making purposefully convoluted pronouncements about his personality. Here's a small sample of the prose you'll be subjected to:

"As I have said and as I have repeated, the character, the vision of Picasso is like himself, it is Spanish and he does not see reality as all the world sees it, so that he alone amongst the painters did not have the problem of expressing the truths that all the world can see but the truths that he alone can see and that is not the world the world recognizes as the world."

"Picasso was always possessed by the necessity of emptying himself, of emptying himself completely, of always emptying himself, he is so full of it that all his existence is the repetition of a complete emptying, he must empty himself, he can never empty himself of being Spanish, but he can empty himself of what he has created."

She can't even end the book without doing it:

"Now this is the end of this story, not the end of his story, but the end of this story of his story."

One thing I'll say for this book? It's mercifully short.
Profile Image for نوري.
859 reviews309 followers
November 27, 2021
نبذة مختصرة عن حياة بيكاسو منذ قدومه إلى فرنسا في عام 1900 وحتى عام 1937 والتغيرات التي طرأت على فنه وتأثير كلا من إسبانيا وفرنسا وإيطاليا والحضارة الشرقية بوجه عام على فكرة وخطوطه، مع وجود صور كثيرة لأعماله الفنية. الكاتبة هي صديقته الأمريكية الثرية التي عاشت عمرها كله في فرنسا والتي تعد من النقاد الفنيين المهمين في تلك الفترة.
Profile Image for Matt.
1,061 reviews702 followers
April 13, 2012

Beautiful so far. Stein's prose style is a little strange, of course, and sort of off-putting but that's the whole point, isn't it? It actually works for this kind of analysis/ memoir/ essay/ piece of what we might refer to as "Imaginitive Criticism"....the singular way she crafts a sentence, insight, observation lulls you in and makes you see the work and life of Picasso as she does, through her aphoristic eyes, and since- according to the lady herself- this is very crux of the matter w/r/t Senior Picasso then the language isn't strange isn't wrong isn't self-indulgent or obscure but a part of the act of reading of seeing in all its glory.

***

After having finished the thing, my original take is still pretty close to the mark. Stein's prose gets a little bit annoying sometimes since naturally she takes so much of what she thinks and says for granted and with a bit of a self-important, nigh-Olympian air. She'll punch you in the nose, if you Woody Allen fans know what I mean.

I don't mind this too much, since I respect her as an aesthetic o.g. and I actually like the tough, innovative way she approaches grammar and syntax. I also love to read about Art in an accessible but apparaising way. I don't know as much about Art as I'd like to but I'm oddly exhilerated when there's commentary about brush strokes and line quality and space adjoining a painting. It's like an ideal convrsation, no?

This is the kind of book which exhbits the type of criticism I like the most- passionate, imaginitive, subjective, associative...an artistic criticism, a poetics of critical inquiry, an aestheticism of impressions. I love my Greil Marcus and my Lester Bangs and my Sontag and so on (anybody out there have a writer in this vein I might enjoy?) for this very reason. Wilde is oh so right, in this as in all things, when he argues that criticism makes of text something beautiful, useful and unique- what more could be said of poetry?

The problem with a book like this is, basically, that it's not really best for a Picasso specialist (too Stein-centered) and yet could probably best be appreciated or argued with by a specialist. Maybe it's the danger this kind of criticism runs, I don't know, but I think it would take more time to really be able to appreciate the text here in a worthy way. Three stars.
Profile Image for Yasmin M..
250 reviews9 followers
July 31, 2017
از اون كتابهايي بود كه حتما دوست دارم تو قفسه ي كتابهام ببينمش. البته براي الان.
نكته اي كه به به ذهنم ميرسه اين هست كه اساسا وقتي يك چيزي يا كسي، كار خارق عادتي انجام ميده توي دنياي انسانها، اون رو اسطوره ميكنن. اسطوره ي خوبي، يا بدي، فرقي نداره. و بقيه ي انسان ها اونقدر اون آدم رو ميخونن، ميبينن و ميشنون ، كه كم كم باورشون ميشه اون از نسل خدايان بوده و به زمين اومده. رويا پردازي و اسطوره سازي براي همه ي انسانها وجود داره، با حدود و شدت هاي متفاوت.
من البته به اين جنبه ي كتاب توجه نكردم موقع خوندنش. جا داره بگم كه گرترود استاين عزيز بسيار بسيار سررشته ي افكارشون فرار بوده :) اين انگار يك كتاب نيست، بلكه انگار يك نفر از دوستان خانم استاين اومدن پيششون، با هم در حال نوشيدن چاي حرف زدن و كسي اون حرفها را روي كاغذ آورده، دوستي كه خيلي هم وراج و عجول بوده و همه ش صحبتهاي خانم استاين رو قطع ميكرده. من پيكاسو رو تحسين ميكنم، اما مي ترسم به تابلوهاش نگاه كنم. ترسم از اين هست كه من هم توي اين شكل هاي عجيب و به ظاهر بي معني، اون زيبايي اي رو كه به پيكاسو نسبت داده شده ببينم و دنياي " هنر به صرف نقاشي هاي رئال" من فرو بريزه.
به هر حال نكته اي كه فهميدم اين بود كه اصلا دوست ندارم وقتي يك اثر هنري رو ميبينم، كسي بياد و براي من توضيح بده كه مثلا منظور از اين قطعه در اون نقطه بيان فلان چيز بوده كه با فلان و بهمان اثر برابري ميكنه... اصلا ذوقم كور ميشه.
نتيجه اي كه بهش رسيدم اينه: دليل اين همه بحث ها، تكنيكاليتي ها، و به طور خلاصه به وجود اومدن اين مدل " نازيبايي هاي كسل كننده" وجود آدمهايي شبيه هم هست، حداقل از يك جنبه.
يك مثال: يك دانشمند فقط در صورتي به خودش فشار مياره كه كار تحقيقاتيش، به موقع به دست مجله هاي معتبر برسه، كه مقاله ي نوشته شده ش حسابي پر از اصطلاحات به جا باشه و خوب نوشته شده باشه و.... اين نگراني ها به نظرم، نصف لذت كنجكاوي و بازي هايي كه ميشه با علم كرد رو كور كرده. چرا؟ چون آدم هاي مشابهي هستند به اسم " رقيب". صد البته كه وجود اونها ميتونه رنگ و بويي به زندگي بده. اما متاسفانه همه چيز به حد افراط رسيده.
نكته: خودم هم زياد از اين شاخه به اون شاخه ميبرم تو نوشته هام. دليل: ساده ست، اينجا مال منه كه افكارم رو شرح بدم.
My train of thoughts, if you may.
Profile Image for Raphael Canossa.
Author 3 books88 followers
January 8, 2023
The book is specific, it's certainly written for a true lover of such a format of exchanging views and ideas. I clearly enjoyed it because I was a kind of an eavesdropper, a peeper in my favorite place and epoch (in Paris, in early 20th century). It is unbearably cool to be involved and be familiar with the great masters like Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, as well as with other great figures of the past times. But, God, how many punctuation errors I came across! Although those are not mistakes at all - in the middle of the book I found an answer from the author himself: "Gertrude Stein said that she did not need commas, the text should be intelligible by itself and not need to be explained through commas and in general a comma is just a sign that you need to stop and take a breath, but as a person, he himself must know where it is better for him to stop and take a breath." How do you like it? That's Modernism! In general, I also liked the message of the book, to immortalize yourself, but at the same time show yourself through the eyes of another. Not just Gertrude, but precisely "Gertrude Stein", an exalted being, a thinker, a master of seeing a genius a mile away. What else to add - you won’t praise yourself, but who will remember you some time later?
Profile Image for diario_de_um_leitor_pjv .
593 reviews56 followers
April 10, 2022
Pablo Picasso pintou um afamado retrato de Gertrude Stein. Ela escreveu este tocante e belo texto em que analisa e percorre a obra do pintor espanhol, de quem foi amiga próxima.

Esta edição que republica um texto de 1938, editado originalmente em Londres, foi adquirida no Museu Picasso de Barcelona, onde comprámos, igualmente, a cópia deste trabalho de Picasso.

O texto, no registo usual de Stein, pontua com memórias das vivências comuns desde o início do século XX até aos anos 30.

Stein demonstra no texto um conhecimenro apurado e atento das fases da produção artística de Picasso, bem como, das conexões do pintor, com as vanguardas e as escolas artísticas e literárias da Paris do início do século.

Um belo documento e um livro de aprendizagem.
Profile Image for Bob.
51 reviews
July 7, 2011
This books contains the only clear description I have ever heard of Cubism. As the butch doyenne of the Parisian Salons, she captures the heart of Picasso in that context. Obliquely shifted my world view just a bit.
Profile Image for صان.
413 reviews285 followers
February 6, 2017
یک شرحِ حال و کمی تفسیر خودمانی از زندگی و کارها و فکرها و دوره‌های کاریِ پیکاسو!
Profile Image for Omar Abu samra.
589 reviews92 followers
May 3, 2019
انصح بقراءة هذا العمل والذهاب فورا نحو متخف بيكاسو في برشلونة.
Profile Image for Fateme.
101 reviews175 followers
Read
June 16, 2021
گرترود و پابلو دوستای نزدیک و صمیمی بودن. مطالعه‌ی پیکاسو از زاویه‌ای انقدر نزدیک اونم وقتی قلم دست گرترود باشه می‌ارزه. جدا از اینکه خود پیکاسو اونقدر بزرگ و عجیب و غریب بوده که لازمه از زوایای مختلفی راجع بهش تحقیق کرد. من تو این زوایا از دیدن فیلم «راز پیکاسو» هم خیلی لذت بردم. از قضا کارگردان اون فیلم هم دوست قدیمی پابلوئه و کل تابلوهایی که در اون فیلم کشیده شدن بعد از تموم‌شدن ضبط، تعمدا از بین رفتن.
گرترود توی این کتاب به‌خوبی برامون توضیح می‌ده که شگفتی و جادوی قرن بیستم فرانسه متعلق به همون قرنه و شکوهش با حضور اسپانیایی‌ها (من جمله پیکاسو) جهانی شده. چند روایت بامزه هم از اخلاق‌های خاص استاد هست که باعث شد بهش به عنوان یه انسان نزدیکتر بشم.
Profile Image for Patricia Vaccarino.
Author 15 books48 followers
December 11, 2023
The iconic Gertrude Stein hosted a salon in Paris that was a prestigious hotbed of creativity. The greatest writers and artists of the early Twentieth Century were brought together in this exclusive, mutual admiration club. Only the crème de la crème were invited to hobnob among the famous and soon-to-be-famous. Hailed for her writing, which was radical at the time, Stein’s craft and technique does not stand the test of time. The monotonous repetition, arbitrary absence of grammar, and countless insider references and entreaties are annoying, and do not satisfy the reader. This poorly crafted puff piece served Picasso well, but it is a real yawner for the rest of us.
Profile Image for Doug.
215 reviews5 followers
May 28, 2020
A discussion of genius, then a discussion of the works of a genius from a contemporary. My takeaways that may shift my viewings of his paintings in the future are the discussions of the many international influences on Picasso’s many periods. Not the influence of the artists from those countries, but the ways of thinking as viewed by Stein the author. The book also widened my knowledge of the varieties of work produced by Picasso. Ultimately the book is about genius, the ways of genius, and the unique point of view of this particular genius (although the many brilliant people who surrounded Stein must have influenced her opinions on genius)
Profile Image for Pat.
49 reviews4 followers
January 5, 2023
Stein is the most wretched writer in the English language that I have ever encountered. Fifty pages of repetitive, aimless, insipid drivel. Even worse than her illegible and nonsensical writing is her “insight” and analysis of art, which amounts to nothing more than cultic, mystical hokum. She had nothing to say but she said it anyways and it blows chunks.
Profile Image for Richard Odier.
96 reviews6 followers
September 26, 2021
Portrait de Picasso écrit en 1938 par une de ses amies et grande collectionneuse.
Réflexions passionnantes sur sa technique, sa créativité et son génie .
Profile Image for Ink drinker ☕️.
375 reviews27 followers
July 19, 2017
Gertrude Stein, como madrina del movimiento literario de los años 20, tuvo la oportunidad de conocer y recibir a grandes artistas plásticos y literarios en su casa. Entre ellos estaba Picasso. Gertrude nos lleva a través de sus recuerdos a los principios del cubismo de Picasso, empezando por su llegada a Paris en 1900 hasta circa 1937 cuando hay un contacto con el surrealismo en España.
El texto de Gertrude es un poco desordenado pero no por ello dejó de gustarme. Avanza y regresa varias veces en el tiempo y a veces se pierde el orden. El ensayo es de carácter bibliográfico en donde Gertrude profundiza en la obra y el desarrollo de la visión de su amigo Picasso que terminará dando a luz al Cubismo. Hace hincapié en un detalle muy importante que es el cambio en la visión del artista del siglo XIX al artista del siglo XX. El artista plástico del siglo XIX necesitaba usar a la modelo en forma presencial para plasmar fielmente lo que veían sus ojos. En cambio el artista plástico del siglo XX usaba la creatividad y la memoria sin necesidad de la presencia de la modelo. Para Gertrude, la gente no es la que cambia de generación en generación sino que es el entorno y éste influye en la visión del artista. El artista es sensible a estos cambios. Picasso pintó como él veía las cosas y no como son. Es una especie de Don Quijote que algunos creyeron que alucinaba las cosas cuando en realidad era como veía las cosas y eran reales para él, esto es una realidad del objeto que existe y no del que se ve.
Gertrude termina por nombrar las influencias de Picasso, empezando con Toulouse Lautrec en 1900, artistas como Braque y sus amigos escritores y poetas como Apollinaire y Max Jacob, así como las influencias de la cultura africana, rusa e italiana, pero sin dejar del todo a España con sus paisajes, su estado anímico y el surrealismo que surge después.
Profile Image for Jake.
239 reviews49 followers
October 15, 2019
For the front cover of this book, Stein put a portrait of her face which her good friend picasso had created. It is, classically, in his style of what I will call cubist physiognomy. There are not many biographies where the author is the face of the book rather than the subject of study . So. Whats not to love?

Weird right. So the question then emerges : was it really a biography?

And the answer: 'Not really.'

So what is there to get out of this?
stein, who was not only a contemporary of Picasso, but a close friend - explains in a decent elaboration as to how he relates to cubism.
The book also though included other parts about his life and ideas - though to superficial degree. It is by no means an impressive work of scholarship.

So why did I give it three stars?
Eh.
I enjoyed it.
It was somewhat likable. It was personal, kinda cutesy, and gave me a pretty good explanation of cubism. Overall this book had some nice comments that may stick with me for a day or two. Nothing too special, nor too abysmal.

Recommended for :

- Art historians
- those curious about Picasso
- those interested in cubism
- artists
Profile Image for Hakan.
212 reviews167 followers
March 1, 2016
kötü, çok kötü bir kitap. picasso'nun dostu olan bir yazarın yazdığını düşündükçe picasso'dan bile şüphe duyuyor insan. bir öğrenci kompozisyonu olabilecek malzemeyi evirip çevirip duruyor yazar kitap boyunca. ısrarla tekrarladığı iki şey var: birincisi picasso'nun portresini yapmış olduğu, ikincisi picasso'nun ispanyol olduğu. birincisi belli ki vahim bir hata, ikincisi ise bir sır.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 164 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.