Author Description

The year 1932 was an extraordinary one for Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), even by his own standards. His paintings reached a new level of sensuality and he cemented his status as the most influential artist of the time. Over the course of the year he created some of his best-loved works, from color-saturated portraits to surrealist drawings. In his personal life, throughout 1932, Picasso kept a delicate balance between tending to his wife Olga Khokhlova and their son, Paulo, and his passionate love affair with Marie-Thérèse Walter, who was 28 years his junior. This publication brings these complex artistic and personal dynamics to life. Picasso's journeys throughout the year, between his country home in Boisgeloup, in Brittany, and his house in Paris, capture the contradictions of his existence at this pivotal moment: a life divided between countryside retreat and urban bustle, established wife and recent lover, painting and sculpture, sensuality and darkness. This lavishly illustrated book explores the major themes and concerns of 1932 in essays, artworks, and archival photographs.