Picasso: Self Portraits

A volume dedicated to Pablo Picasso’s self-portraits from his earliest works to his final years, several of which are published here for the first time.

Pablo Picasso’s life and art has been depicted in monographs, biographies, and movies, but until now his self-portraits as a body of work have not received the focus they deserve. Picasso represented himself ceaselessly throughout his extensive career, whether in a dashed-off pencil sketch, as a flourish at the bottom of a letter, or on a giant painted canvas.

Forty years ago, art historian Pascal Bonafoux began documenting Picasso's self-portraits at the suggestion of his widow, Jacqueline. This book compiles the fruit of his research, from 1894 - when Picasso was thirteen - to his final self-portrait in 1972. It charts his life and art: student, bohemian, Parisian artist, harlequin, lover, husband, and father; and his confrontation with mortality. Almost 170 drawings, paintings, and photos, some from private and unpublished collections, make up this compendium of Picasso's genius.