Reviews

Published as part of the Museum of Modern Art's "Studies in Modern Art" series, this volume offers, in essence, a detailed biography of Picasso's "Demoiselles d'Avignon." This painting, a key icon in the history of Cubism, is often deemed the "first" painting of the 20th century. Noted art historian Rubin carefully narrates the origins, genesis, and execution of the painting. Documenting his essay with numerous illustrations from Picasso's notebooks, oil sketches and completed works, Rubin presents a careful synthesis of past criticism as well as providing new insights into the work's creation, its thematic claims, and its impact on the Cubist aesthetic. A detailed chronology tracks the painting from 1907 (when it was begun) through 1939, when MoMA, which had acquired the painting in 1937, displayed in a major Picasso exhibition. A brief essay by Étienne Alain Hubert discusses the possibility of a previously unknown exhibition of the painting in 1918. Recommended for large collections on modern art.-Martin R. Kalfatovic, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, D.C.