This volume presents three of Meyer Schapiro's finest essays on Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). Given that we esteem artists whose work epitomizes particular styles, how can we likewise value Picasso, an artist who demonstrates a wide range of artistic styles? In his first essay, The Unity of Picasso's Art, Schapiro dismantles this apparent paradox by finding unity through hidden associations among seemingly disparate works and unsuspected ties to Picasso's personal experiences. In Einstein and Cubism: Science and Art, Schapiro investigates potential connections between the two most important radical innovations in science and art of the early 20th century: Einstein's 1905 Theory of Relativity and Braque and Picasso's Cubism at the end of the same decade. Schapiro uses the assumed relationship between the two to analyse the classic themes of space, time and movement in art, celebrating the innovations of both Relativity and Cubism as models of the searching, questioning mind, in short, of freedom of thought. In the final essay, Schapiro shows that Guernica, although the greatest political work of art of the 20th century, nevertheless embodied many of Picasso's artistic and personal obessions. This book offers comprehensive analysis of the 20th century's most prolific artist - Pablo Picasso. It will appeal to all those who have followed Picasso's career and to those intrigued by the multi-faceted connections between art and social changes.

Study Of This Important American Painter By One Of His Students.

Study Of This Important American Painter By One Of His Students.

Meyer Schapiro (1904-96), renowned for his critical essays on nineteenth- and twentieth-century painting, also played a decisive role as a young scholar in defining the style of art and architecture known as Romanesque. And, appropriately, when he was invited to deliver the prestigious Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard, he chose Romanesque architectural sculpture as his topic. These lectures, acclaimed for the verve and freshness with which Schapiro delivered them, languished unpublished for decades. But Linda Seidel, who knew Schapiro well and attended the 1967 lectures, has now expertly transcribed and edited them, presenting them for the first time to an audience beyond the halls of Harvard.
In editing the lectures, Seidel closely followed the recordings of the originals. Sentences are rendered as Schapiro spoke them, affording readers a unique opportunity to experience the legendary teacher as he rarely appears in print: forming his thoughts spontaneously, interrupting himself to develop related ideas, and responding to the audience's interests by introducing humorous asides. Nonetheless, these lectures are carefully constructed, demonstrating Schapiro's commitment to the originality and value of artistic production and affirming his lifelong belief in artists' engagement with their cultures. Amply illustrated with many key works and augmented with Seidel's indispensable introduction, this long-awaited volume will delight students and scholars of art history, as well as anyone interested in seeing a new side of a profoundly influential mind.