The Picasso Papers [Paperback]

Rosalind E. Krauss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 1999

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

One of the country's foremost critics and theorists, Krauss here offers a unique, scholarly look at Picasso's numerous styles, with some of the most fascinating analysis examining the juncture between them. In the first section, the book's title becomes a play on the materials from which Picasso constructed his cubist works. Krauss deconstructs many individual pieces in terms of background and foreground and grants the newspapers the role of dialog among subjects. What is most interesting and unique about the analysis is her convincing argument that the introduction of color into the cubist palette was the impetus for the artist's abandoning that style. Later she discusses Picasso's frequent borrowings?from Ingress and Cezanne, Seurat and even photography?the idea of synthesis, and the existence of a work as unique hybrid. Throughout, she critiques the innumerable previous writings on Picasso, and in the book's final section she offers a deeper look at a few titles and the purpose they serve in the making of the Modern master. Not a biography for Picasso novices, this is nonetheless accessible to informed lay readers and deserves a place in larger public as well as all academic collections.?Douglas McClemont, New York
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Picasso and his work have inspired thousands of pages of commentary and analysis, ranging from the slavishly devotional to the shamelessly psychological, but art historian Krauss felt that in spite of all this coverage, certain key issues have been ignored, perhaps avoided. Eager to get them out into the open and, in the process, call attention to what can be described as a tendency to reenact the old fairy tale of the emperor's new clothes when it comes to responding to modern art, Krauss has written a clever, erudite, and provocative inquiry into the meaning, if any, behind Picasso's radical changes in style. As she analyzes specific works and his abrupt shift from cubism to neoclassicism, she evaluates Picasso's eroticism, passion for subterfuge, and the tremendous influence writers, composers, and other artists had on his art. Ultimately, Krauss cites a hollowness in the protean artist's work, even a laxness, a conclusion readers will either embrace or reject, but either way, they will relish the intricate choreography and fearlessness of her performance. Donna Seaman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1st MIT Press ed edition (February 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262611422
• ISBN-13: 978-0262611428
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Important Text, April 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Picasso Papers (Paperback)

Rosalind Krauss's brief, glimmering text offers the perfect counterpoint to thin biographical essays on the artist. In _Picasso Papers_, Krauss looks closely at Picasso's early collages, reading them in light of her keen understanding of Picasso's overall ouevre and life. Krauss argues effectively for Picasso's revolutionary use of linguistic structures in the early collages, and mirrors her argument with her poetic use of language. This book is perfect for those interested in the life and work of Picasso and should be required reading for people interested in critical theory and contemporary studies of Modern art.