Picasso and the Painting That Shocked the World

Get in the xigxag app
This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.
Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }}
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

When Picasso became Picasso: the story of how an obscure young painter from Barcelona came to Paris and made himself into the most influential artist of the twentieth century

In 1900, an eighteen-year-old Spaniard named Pablo Picasso made his first trip to Paris. It was in this glittering capital of the international art world that, after suffering years of poverty and neglect, he emerged as the leader of a bohemian band of painters, sculptors, and poets. Fueled by opium and alcohol, inspired by raucous late-night conversations at the Lapin Agile cabaret, Picasso and his friends resolved to shake up the world.

For most of these years Picasso lived and worked in a squalid tenement known as the Bateau Lavoir, in the heart of picturesque Montmartre. Here he met his first true love, Fernande Olivier, a muse whom he would transform in his art from Symbolist goddess to Cubist monster. These were years of struggle, often of desperation, but Picasso later looked back on them as the happiest of his long life.

Recognition came slowly: first in the avant-garde circles in which he traveled, and later among a small group of daring collectors, including the Americans Leo and Gertrude Stein. In 1906, Picasso began the vast, disturbing masterpiece known as Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. Inspired by the groundbreaking painting of Paul Cézanne and the startling inventiveness of African and tribal sculpture, Picasso created a work that captured and defined the disorienting experience of modernity itself. The painting proved so shocking that even his friends assumed he’d gone mad. Only his colleague George Braque understood what Picasso was trying to do. Over the next few years they teamed up to create Cubism, the most revolutionary and influential movement in twentieth-century art.

This is the story of an artistic genius with a singular creative gift. It is filled with heartbreak and triumph, despair and delirium, all of it played out against the backdrop of the world’s most captivating city.

Critics Review

  • “Malcolm Hillgartner’s narration is an excellent match to this audiobook…Hillgartner’s deep, crisp voice complements the historical information, and his measured pace helps keep the listener focused. He admirably tackles both French and Spanish pronunciations, which occur frequently, and adds passion to Picasso’s quotes. Hillgartner’s skillful narration helps Unger’s work shine.”

    AudioFile

  • “The birth of modernism a century ago was one of history’s greatest moments of creative disruption…One major spark was an astonishing painting by Picasso, and Miles Unger brings us both the drama and brilliance of that creation in this thrilling book.”

    Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author

  • “Bohemian Montmartre comes brilliantly to life, as do the artist’s struggles.”

    New Yorker

  • “How Picasso became Picasso, as reported by Unger, who writes on art, books, and culture for the Economist.”

    Washington Post

  • “This excellent narrative…combines the personal story of Picasso’s early years in Paris—his friendships, his romances, his great ambition, his fears—with the larger story of modernism and the avant-garde.”

    Christian Science Monitor

  • “Riveting…This engrossing book chronicles with precision and enthusiasm a painting with lasting impact in today’s art world.”

    Publishers Weekly (starred review)

More from the same

Narrator

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.