Portrait of Picasso As a Young Man: An Interpretive Biography

Rating:
Summary: 4 out of 5
Review: A good read. Mailer brings Picasso to life. Hard to put down.
I am re-reading this after a couple of years and I am remembering why I enjoyed it so much. It is nice to read an interpretive biography that makes Picasso human as opposed reading dry, critical art history for a change.

Rating:
Summary: Americanism can rot even the most lucid minds
Review: A message from Europe to poor Norman Mailer : "L erreur est la legende douloureuse" Lautreamont

Rating:
Summary: You Can't Go Wrong With This Pair!!!
Review: Both blustering,rowdy boy geniuses...Both with their ups and downs with women. Mr. Mailer does his usual terrific job here,and admits a longtime obsession with the great artist. Anyone doubting Picasso's genius will have no doubts after reading this one. The author's descriptions of the great artist's youth leave one feeling that artistic genius is inevitable.From Spain to Paris,we are led on a jaunty trip.And he kept at it even into his nineties! In short,this must be among the classic special bios of perhaps the 20th century greatest artist!!

Rating:
Summary: Picasso!
Review: I found this book in an apartment in Florence, where i was staying for a couple days during a tour of Italy & Austria. The TV was broken, so i just picked up a random book that looked interesting. I hadn't read a book all the way through for a year or two, and wasn't planning on really reading this one either. After the first chapter, i could hardly put it down... The lady who owned the apartment let me borrow it for the rest of my trip, where i read the rest of it on trains and whatnot, and ended up thoroughly enjoying it. It is an extremely interesting and detailed book, which explores all of Picasso's adventures in Paris & Spain, his love life, and connects him to many interesting people, including some other popular artists of his time. Recommended reading for modern art fans..

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding, very lively
Review: Mr. Mailer has done a great job on Picasso's early years. He has done solid research, knows the paintings and the personalities in Picasso's life very well. PP's relationship with Braque is presented clearly, the life in Paris in the early part of the century is well told too. Overall, a lively and entertaining read, much livelier than the door jam books of John Richardson.

Rating:
Summary: Alas poor Ego, I knew him well.
Review: Much has been made of Pablo Picasso's huge ego, but never more so than here, where it would seem that only Norman Mailer's considerable esteem for himself could give Picasso's a run for his money. Yet, that having been said, I still give this book a 4 star rating ... after all, what could be more interesting than the self-absorbed genius writer presuming to reveal the inner thoughts of the equally self-absorbed artistic genius, Picasso?