Picasso and Truth

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Picasso and Truth presents a fresh perspective on the iconic artist, examining his evolution from early works like The Blue Room to the monumental Guernica. Art historian T.J. Clark reassesses Picasso's paintings from the 1920s and 1930s, probing the significance of room-space in his worldview and the implications of feeling confined within it amid the tumult of the twentieth century. Clark investigates the interplay of space and the interior, highlighting the tension between intimacy and monstrosity in Picasso's art. This richly illustrated volume, based on the A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art, counters the biographical and idolizing tendencies of previous studies, emphasizing the structure and substance of Picasso's work. Focusing on three pivotal pieces—Guitar and Mandolin on a Table (1924), The Three Dancers (1925), and The Painter and His Model (1927)—Clark delves into Picasso's response to Nietzsche's assertion that the commitment to truth was unraveling in modern Europe. With masterful historical contextualization, the book elevates Picasso beyond celebrity status, revealing the tragic vision of his art—both humane and appalling, naive yet complex, mourning a lost nineteenth century while confronting the horrors of Europe between the wars.