This landmark publication presents for the first time a comprehensive catalogue of the works by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) in the Metropolitan Museum. Comprising thirty-four paintings,
fifty-eightdrawings, a dozen sculptures and ceramics, and more than four hundred prints, the collection reflects the full breadth of the artist’s multisided genius as it asserted itself over
the course of his long and influential career. Notable for its remarkable constellation of early figure paintings, which include the commanding At the Lapin Agile (1905) and the
iconic portrait of Gertrude Stein (1906), the Museum’s collection also stands apart for its exceptional cache of drawings, which despite their importance and number remain
relatively little known.
The key subjects that variously sustained Picasso’s interest—the pensive harlequins of his Blue and Rose periods, faceted tabletops of his Cubist years, classicizing bathers and dreaming
nudes of the 1920s and 30s, and the rakish musketeers of his maturity—are amply represented by works ranging in date from a dashing self-portrait in watercolor of 1900 to the fanciful image
he painted of himself as a faun more than a half-century later.
An overview of the collection’s history; entries on nearly one hundred works that incorporate the latest technical and documentary findings and furnish a full record of the provenance,
exhibition history, and references for each object; and an essay and illustrated checklist of the prints are also included in this illuminating and handsomely illustrated volume.
