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A LIFE OF PICASSO Volume One, 1881-1906. By John Richardson, with the collaboration of Marilyn McCully. Illustrated. 548 pp. New York: Random House. $39.95.
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Few biographies in the literature of art have aroused more expectation than the four intended volumes of "A Life of Picasso" by John Richardson. Though sometimes despaired of by those who were most impatient to read it, Mr. Richardson's Volume One turns out to have been worth the wait.

A remarkable achievement on more than one count, it has the steady, unhurrying pace and the superabundance of detail that were the mark of biography in High Victorian days. It is warmed throughout by unforced private affection and by a veritable tumult of reminiscence. But neither hype nor adulation plays a part in it. The record is set straight, without bias, even where the buzzword "manipulative" is the only one that fits Pablo Picasso's treatment of others.

Not only Picasso himself, but all those with whom he came into close contact -- friends, lovers, colleagues, nonentities and men and wome

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The summer stay in Gósol village that inspired Picasso to create cubism

Updated July 2024

Perched high in the foothills of the Catalan Pyrenees mountains, about 93 miles from Barcelona, the quaint village of Gósol beckons art and nature lovers seeking to retrace the steps of the famous Spanish painter Pablo Picasso. More than a century ago, in the summer of 1906, Picasso and girlfriend, Fernande Olivier, a French artist and model, and a fox terrier puppy made a remarkable journey by train and then mule from Barcelona to Gósol. They were both 24 years old. Picasso was suffering from a creative block in Paris, so he left the city and went to Barcelona with Fernande to seek fresh inspiration. Picasso and Fernande travelled first by train from Paris to Barcelona where they stayed for two weeks to catch up with old friends and family from Picasso's youth when he lived and studied in Barcelona. Then, on the glowing recommendation of a friend, Picasso and Fernande decided to spend the summer in Gósol, a remote and beautiful mountain

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Picasso’s summer of 1906: 80 days that changed the history of art

Gósol is a small town in the Pyrenees mountain range, located about 93 miles from Barcelona. At an altitude of 4,668 feet, past ascending roads full of curves, it’s not easy to reach. Of course, it was far more difficult to get to Gósol in May of 1906, when Pablo Picasso decided to isolate himself for a while in the town with Fernande Olivier, the model who became the artist’s first great love. They were both 24 years old.

Accompanied by a fox terrier puppy, they made the difficult journey by cart and mule. They entered the town between May 27 and 29, probably returning to Paris on July 23. The artist ― already sought-after and respected by then ― was experiencing a creative block. His legendary speed disappeared when he was trying to photograph his friend and patron, Gertrude Stein.

Eighty days after leaving for Catalonia, when he re-entered his Parisian studio once again, he carried in his head the keys to modernity ― a path traveled by Cézanne, Manet and Matisse. Picasso resolved the portrait of Gertrude Stei