doriastories 's review for:

The Ultimate Picasso by Pablo Picasso, Marie-Laure Bernadac, Brigitte Leal, Christine Piot

5.0

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Extraordinary and enormous book, gloriously packed with full-color reproductions of more than a thousand of Picasso's works. Drawings, etchings, paintings, ceramics and sculpture are all given due diligence, as well as a biographical index with a nice complement of photographs. Wonderful and insightful essays guide the reader through close readings of many of these works, enhancing our understanding and appreciation for the great master of the twentieth century. The book is helpfully divided into chronological sections of Picasso's long and fruitful life, making it possible to work one's way through comprehensively and manageably. Rather like eating a large and very delicious whale. This is a rare gem: a full-sized (and heavy) coffee table book which I have actually read in its completion. I savored every page, and reserve the right to read it again some day. Until then, it remains on the coffee table!