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Life with Picasso Paperback – Illustrated, June 11 2019

4.5 out of 5 stars 948 ratings
4.1 on Goodreads
5,214 ratings

麻豆区

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Fran?oise Gilot's candid memoir remains the most revealing portrait of Picasso written, and gives fascinating insight into the intense and creative life shared by two modern artists.

Fran?oise Gilot was in her early twenties when she met the sixty-one-year-old Pablo Picasso in 1943. Brought up in a well-to-do upper-middle-class family, who had sent her to Cambridge and the Sorbonne and hoped that she would go into law, the young woman defied their wishes and set her sights on being an artist. Her introduction to Picasso led to a friendship, a love affair, and a relationship of ten years, during which Gilot gave birth to Picasso’s two children, Paloma and Claude. Gilot was one of Picasso’s muses; she was also very much her own woman, determined to make herself into the remarkable painter she did indeed become.

Life with Picasso, written with Carlton Lake and published in 1961, is about Picasso the artist and Picasso the man. We hear him talking about painting and sculpture, his life, his career, as well as other artists, both contemporaries and old masters. We glimpse Picasso in his many and volatile moods, dismissing his work, exultant over his work, entertaining his various superstitions, being an anxious father. But Life with Picasso is not only a portrait of a great artist at the height of his fame; it is also a picture of a talented young woman of exacting intelligence at the outset of her own notable career.

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Review

“摆A] completely fascinating volume, one of the most illuminating we have had on the mind and spirit of Picasso.”
—Irving Stone, The?Los Angeles Times

“摆Life with Picasso is] a thorough picture of Picasso’s life in the postwar period, at the moment he became a monument . . . More telling, though, is what we learn about Gilot, who came from a rich Parisian family and entered Picasso’s life with the intensity of a ‘little Rimbaud’. She was restless, spirited and determined not to become another of Picasso’s ‘grains of dust’, those women she watched ‘floating in the sunlight’ all around him, waiting to be pushed out of his life with the swish of a broom.”
—Lili Owen Rowlands, The London Review of Books

“摆N]ot only a vivid account of her life with [Picasso] but an intimate panorama of life in Paris during and after the German occupation, a Paris populated by Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti, and Gertrude Stein.”
—Wendy Goodman,?New York Magazine

“Fran?oise Gilot’s gift of total recall seems scarcely human, but in her account of the ten years she spent with Picasso . . . everything he said to her about his work rings true even in English.”
—Robert Melville, New Statesman

“Fascinating and brilliant, and crucial to the understanding of Picasso.”
—John Richardson, author of A Life of Picasso
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“A valuable interior view of a genius on the hearth.”
The Observer
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“Although there is much anguish to be found . . . there are also moments of tenderness and elation, forming what must be one of the most agonizingly honest and one of the most touching accounts of the life of a painter in the history of art.”
—Jean Boggs, The Art Bulletin
?
“What it is like actually to live with the most publicized artist in history—as chauffeur, secretary, pupil, companion, mother, lover, and ex-lover—is now told for the first time.”
—Selden Rodman, Saturday Review
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“The portrait of Picasso that emerges . . . has a monumentality, a richness and diversity and intensity of being that could have been captured only by a woman of uncommon gifts.”
—Paul Pickrel, Harper’s Magazine

“She is a superb witness to Picasso as an artist and to his views on art. . . . Picasso’s intentions, his way of working and his fearless invention are brilliantly revealed.”
—Aline Saarinen, The New York Times Book Review
?
“Astonishing, crowded, intimate . . . a biographer of true Boswellian blood . . . a convincing portrait, painted with knowledge that comes only from absolute intimacy, of a fascinating monster, a geyser of energy, a complex character. . . . We are shown pictures of Malraux, Cocteau, Matisse, Hemingway . . . Gertrude Stein, Braque, Paul??luard, Giacometti, Gide, Aragon, Chagall, Leger, Chaplin. . . . The reader feels that he is in Picasso’s studio, and at times even in Picasso’s mind.”
—Clifton Fadiman, Book-of-the-Month Club News

“摆The] world owes Miss Gilot a tremendous debt, as well as a salute for what can only be described as?a?sensational ability to report and comprehend.”
—Emily Genauer, New York Herald Tribune

About the Author

Fran?oise Gilot?is a French painter, critic, and writer. Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France,?she?began writing and painting at a young age. In 1938, she graduated from the Sorbonne with a BA in?philosophy and in 1939 from Cambridge University with a degree in English. In 1943, when Gilot was?twenty-one, she met Pablo Picasso, who was?sixty-one, and theyhad two children, Claude and Paloma. Their relationship lasted ten years, and Gilot published the bestselling?Life with Picasso?eleven years after their separation. In 1970,?she?married Jonas Salk, who pioneered the polio vaccine, and they remained married until his death in 1995. Gilot lives in Paris and New York, works on behalf of the Salk Institute in California, and continues to exhibit her work internationally.?
?
Carlton Lake?(1915–2006) was an art critic and collector, and the Paris art critic for?The Christian Science Monitor.?He?contributed essays, short stories, and conversations with Matisse, Picasso, Chagall, Henry Moore, and Giacometti to several publications. He donated his vast collection of art—350,000 French literary materials—to the?Harry?Ransom Center at the University of Austin, where Lake was once?the?director and where the items can still be viewed today.?

Lisa Alther?is the author of six novels, a memoir, a short story collection, and the book About Women: Conversations Between a Writer and a Painter, co-authored with Fran?oise Gilot. She lives in Hinesburg, Vermont.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYRB Classics
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 11 2019
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Illustrated
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 168137319X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1681373195
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 kg
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.39 x 2.01 x 20.27 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 948 ratings

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Top reviews from Canada

  • Reviewed in Canada on September 29, 2022
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    I admire Francoise to have had the patience to cope with Picasso's outbursts. I guess she loved him enough to stay with him all those years!
  • Reviewed in Canada on February 2, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    As a Picasso nut, I can't say enough about how good this book is for anyone who wants to get a sense of what the man, as opposed to the myth, was like.
  • Reviewed in Canada on August 18, 2022
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    This book is more a picture of the business of Picasso's art, than a direct insight into his personal habits. Or perhaps he didn't have ones that were warmly colorful rather than his quirky sales practices. I wanted, as I read through names and events, to know more about the man and how Picasso "ticked". The author, one of the artist's wives, seems altogether too accepting of a man whose ego was larger than any of his works. But that isn't unusual among the rich and famous. Their odd marriage, as she describes it, was more as two as artistic companions, than loving husband and wife. Even their offspring seemed to be part of a background in their art world. I found the story honest, but cold.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in Canada on July 4, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Still reading it & enjoying it very much , watched the series PICASSO genius , & wanted to learn more about this fascinating man . The series was quite accurate however they painted him with a too kind brush . He was always an egoist
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in Canada on June 20, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    A book I will keep and treasure
  • Reviewed in Canada on April 30, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Very interesting story of the later years of Picasso and his young companion, as well as his relationship with other famous contemporary artists living in France at the time. Brings a better understanding of Picasso’s artistic approach although it doesn’t make the man any more likeable. I thought Francoise was quite restrained in describing the hardships of living with Picasso.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in Canada on August 7, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Not done yet but so far so good!! Very interesting to hear the story from the perspective of Fran?oise.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in Canada on December 29, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Received it shortly after I ordered it.Just finished reading it ,I really enjoyed the read !!!
    One person found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

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  • franz
    4.0 out of 5 stars Per gli amanti dell'arte e dell'amore che ispira l'arte
    Reviewed in Italy on May 15, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Interessantissimo libro sull'arte e nonostante Picasso ne emerga come un narcisista patologico, il genio puro e la nascita di alcune delle opere di questo artista sono descritte in modo sincero ed appassionato. L'autrice/compagna Francoise Gilot è una testimone di grande fascino e vitalità. E' comprensibile che Picasso non abbia mai più voluto rivolgerle la parola dopo l'uscita del libro. Emerge il grande amore che li ha legati, la fragilità dell'uomo (talvolta meschineria) e il fatto che senza le sue donne Picasso non avrebbe avuto le fonti di ispirazione che lo hanno reso immortale.
    Report
  • Peace & Quiet
    5.0 out of 5 stars REREAD AND BETTER THE SECOND TIME
    Reviewed in France on August 26, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Perspective of age on this nice memoir, well written and informative.
  • J. G. Osborn
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fran?oise Gilot runs away and joins the circus
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    It’s not often a famous painter writes a memoir. Picasso tried to get publication of this one stopped but his efforts probably contributed towards it becoming an international best seller when published in 1964. The fact Life With Picasso is still in print almost 60 years later tells you everything about the enduring public fascination with the story.

    Fran?oise Gilot was a strong-willed and ambitious 21-year old art student when she met Pablo Picasso at a Paris restaurant in 1943. Ten years and two illegitimate children later, she grew tired of being his doormat, stepped out of his shadow, and began a new life on her own terms. This is Gilot’s first-hand account of their time together. It’s no homage. Instead, it shines a bright unforgiving light in to the darkest corners of their often one-sided relationship. If revenge is a dish best served cold, then this feast is straight from the deep freeze.

    We meet Picasso’s former lovers and his neurotic first wife whom he never divorced. We learn a little about his relationships with his children and his friends and peers including Gertrude Stein, Henri Matisse, Paul Eluard, and Georges Braque. We go on a tour of his studios and homes past and present and visit the Harry Potter-like vaults where he stored his personal collection of favourite pieces. We even get to wrestle with many of his often long semi-philosophical monologues on a wide range of subjects that Gilot recalls in great detail.

    But, however interesting these unique views into Picasso’s fiercly guarded privatel life might be, Gilot’s apparently privileged position is hard earned and she provides numerous examples of his controlling, manipulative, and self-indulgent behaviour. As their relationship progressed, I found his callous disregard for her feelings and welfare increasingly difficult to reconcile with Gilot’s unwavering devotion and commitment.

    Despite Picasso’s near total focus on his own needs and interests, Gilot generously claims she saw a deeply emotional creative genius plagued with suspicion and self-doubt who was aware of his own mortality. However, this is at odds with how she portrays him here, which is as an emotionally naive individual suffering from an exaggerated sense of power and entitlement.

    There are many instances of how he enjoyed pushing boundaries and testing friendships to breaking point, often by making those closest to him look ridiculous or feel inadequate. Eventually, his preference for circus over stability combined with his suffocating demand for attention proved too much for Gilot and she became the first of Picasso’s muses to leave him on her terms.

    Life With Picasso is a fascinating study for those interested in the human condition. It’s as much testament to the strength and determination that turned Gilot in to a highly respected artist in her own right as it is an insight in to what it’s like to live with arguably the most influential artist of the 20th Century.

    Sadly Fran?oise Gilot died in June 2023 and there are now several new biographies about her life but this is surely their main source of content. Admitedly, the paperback version is quite a challenging read with its large blocks of unbroken text, poor quality black and white images, and an increasingly anecdotal style as the final third of the story begins to lose focus. However, it’s worth persevering if you want to discover the real man (and woman) behind their respective canvases.
  • 虚空
    5.0 out of 5 stars 英语でも大丈夫
    Reviewed in Japan on July 23, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    TV番组で着者(话者)のフランソワーズ?ジローが取り上げられ、それでピカソとの生活が语られた本书を読んでみたくなりました。

    和訳もありますが、新本では手に入らず、古书も数倍の値段になっていてちょっと敷居の高さを感じたので、廉価な本书を选びました。

    まだ読み始めたばかりですが、英语自体はそれほど难しくなく、辞书を时々引けば十分読みすすめられます。折角英语を勉强したのですから、こういうところで活用しては如何でしょうか。
  • Nancy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
    Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Loved the book. It is well written and reads as a page turner Learned a lot about Piccaso