Picasso Black And White

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Picasso Black and White. Curated by Carmen Gimaenez, Stephen and Nan Swid Curator of Twentieth-Century Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York.

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.

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.

Painting "without color" has long held a fascination for artists. In this striking and original book, the authors explore how and why artists from the 15th century to the present have chosen to paint in black, white, and shades of gray. Sometimes artists used trompe l'oeil monochromatic effects to represent other media, such as sculpture, prints, or photography; others have consciously limited their palette as a means of re-focusing the viewer's attention, while contemporary artists such as Gerhard Richter and Bridget Riley have often found inspiration in pushing black and white to its limits, and in new directions. The authors trace the history of this art form, from the symbolism of sacred images in medieval church ritual - epitomized in Netherlandish painting from the 15th century onwards by Hans Memling and Jan van Eyck - to the modern era and the work of artists such as Josef Albers and Ellsworth Kelly.

Of all the great paintings in the world, Picasso's Guernica has had a more direct impact on our consciousness than perhaps any other. In this absorbing and revealing book, Gijs van Hensbergen tells the story of this masterpiece. Starting with its origin in the destruction of the Basque town of Gernika in the Spanish Civil War, the painting is then used as a weapon in the propaganda battle against Fascism. Later it becomes the nucleus of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the detonator for the Big Bang of Abstract Expressionism in the late 1940s. This tale of passion and politics shows the transformation of this work of art into an icon of many meanings, up to its long contested but eventually triumphant return to Spain in 1981.

A collection of photographs of Pablo Picasso's life and art, taken by his friend, award-winning photojournalist David Douglas Duncan.

The Black Picasso explores the origins of racism, the reasons it perpetuates today and gives suggestions for how to eradicate it. The author also tries to read between the lines of racist narratives which white supremacists and racists groups project every day which is 'blacks and whites are not born equal'. 'They (whites) are superior to blacks'. From the author's research on those narratives, he discovered that these racists and white supremacists are actually very right; that indeed blacks and whites are not born equal, though he also admits that his findings will shock black people, and the whole world, but it's just the brutal reality the world must learn to live with, as well as learn to respect and acknowledge each other's differences. The author questions whether God is a racist, using Bible and Qur'anic references to justify his thoughts. He discusses racist narratives and the black people's search for validation and identity, probes the world's use of the white dictionary and the stereotypical way in which people with a black skin are judged. He feels that the 'black man is perpetually under trial for a crime he knows nothing about; the crime of wearing a black skin.' But 'black is beautiful'. He explores the work of Pablo Picasso in relation to the period classified as the African-influenced Period (1907 - 1909) and suggests the world should see that 'black people are a beautiful work of art. They are Picassos...'