Review by Booklist Review
A minimal amount of commentary is required for enjoying this remarkable book of lustrous black-and-white photographs; hence, little is presented. Duncan, a renowned photojournalist, was a close friend of Picasso's and took thousands of profoundly personal pictures of the artist and his family in Picasso's home on the French Riviera. This particular sequence was taken during two heady summer days in 1957 while Picasso worked on a portrait of Jacqueline, the woman he was soon to marry. Picasso is 76, at the height of his powers, and obviously comfortable around his friend with the camera. For his part, Duncan has captured the artist's tremendous physical strength and Herculean concentration. There's an amazing energy to these well-composed images of Picasso at work. As the bare-chested artist makes his first mark on the canvas, it's almost as though we, he, and the photographer are all holding our breath. --Donna Seaman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
