About the Author
Meyer Schapiro (1904-1996) was University Professor Emeritus at Columbia University, where he was a student and teacher for over fifty years. His previous publications include five volumes of Selected Papers, including Modern Art (vol. 2), which was awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award (1978) and the Mitchell Prize for Art History (1979).

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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 twentieth century: Einstein's 1905 Special 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 analyze 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 twentieth century, nevertheless embodied many of Picasso's artistic and personal obsessions. This book offers comprehensive analysis of the twentieth 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. 13 color illustrations, 103 b/w illustrations.

FROM THE CRITICS

Booknews

Though the topic is Picasso, the volume is important too as an addition to the writings of the pre-eminent art historian, Meyer Schapiro (deceased, 1997; formerly Columbia U.). The essayson the unity of Picasso's art, Einstein and Cubism, sources and changesare formed from a combination of lectures, essays, revised lecture notes, unfinished drafts, and notes by Schapiro. Two are edited by Lillian Milgram Schapiro; the essay on Einstein and Cubism was edited by Joseph Masheck (art history, Hofstra U., New York). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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