“We look at paintings to imagine other worlds, other times. They are doors into an alternative, creative way of life.”
So writes Sue Roe in her latest book, Hidden Portraits: the Untold Story of Six Women Who loved Picasso.
And if there was ever an artist who opened the door to an alternative view of the world, surely Picasso qualifies: unorthodox, exhilarating, and experimental, his art broke new ground and made him the most successful artist of the 20th century.
But as is so often the case, his work was underpinned by a series of women – remarkable women – whom Picasso loved, and seemingly attempted to control.
Sue Roe’s book tells their stories in turn, unveiling their extraordinary lives, exploring the impact they had on the artist and he on them.
[See more: Picasso’s mistreated muses]
In doing so it reveals, without moralising, some patterns of behaviour by Picasso which one might conclude were, at best, controlling and manipulative.
This opens up the fashionable question in 2025: can we appreciate the art while recognising that the artist could be a very unpleasant human being?
Hidden Portraits: the Untold Stories of Six Women Who Loved Picasso
Sue Roe
Faber & Faber, 304pp, £25
Purchasing a book may earn the NS a commission from Bookshop.org, who support independent bookshops
Content from our partners
Related
Join the debate
Subscribe here to comment