When Picasso's eight-year-old sister died of diphtheria, he decided God was evil but took her death as an omen that he should become a painter. Later, the youthful artist, rebelling against his father, left home for a few weeks and moved into a brothel. Impulsiveness, rebellion, guilt and sexual energy drove Picasso as he gave form to his inner demons. He wielded his art as a weapon, exacting vengeance for the wives and mistresses who died, went mad or committed suicide. Huffington, author of Maria Callas, has written an astonishing biography, a shocking portrait of a man driven by a compulsive need to destroy even as his creativity burst forth. Based on interviews and primary sources, this intriguing and exhausting book lifts the veil of secrecy surrounding Picasso's sexual and personal sadism, his compulsive fears and self-identification with Christ. First serial to the Atlantic; BOMC featured selection. (June)
This landmark biography penetrates the barriers of legend to bring to full and intimate life a man whose burning passions-for painting, women, and ideas-were matched by a compulsion to invent reality in his life no less than in his art. Here is the tragic story of a man who, from his teenage passion for a gypsy boy to the chilling bitterness and betrayals of his old age, was unable to love and was driven to dominate and humiliate the women-and men-who fell under his hypnotic spell.
Drawing on a wealth of startling revelations, including the vivid memories of Picasso's daughter Maya and the heretofore untold recollections of Françoise Gilot, who shared his life for ten years and bore two of his children, the author has stripped bare the romantic myths to reveal, in all its volatile complexity, Picasso's lifelong struggle between his power to create and his compulsion to destroy.
This landmark biography penetrates the barriers of legend to bring to full and intimate life a man whose burning passions-for painting, women, and ideas-were matched by a compulsion to invent reality in his life no less than in his art. Here is the tragic story of a man who, from his teenage passion for a gypsy boy to the chilling bitterness and betrayals of his old age, was unable to love and was driven to dominate and humiliate the women-and men-who fell under his hypnotic spell.
Drawing on a wealth of startling revelations, including the vivid memories of Picasso's daughter Maya and the heretofore untold recollections of Françoise Gilot, who shared his life for ten years and bore two of his children, the author has stripped bare the romantic myths to reveal, in all its volatile complexity, Picasso's lifelong struggle between his power to create and his compulsion to destroy.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169906301 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 08/15/2012 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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