This book presents an innovative new reading of Picasso’s long artistic career. Instead of dividing his art into discrete stylistic periods, authoritative texts and lavish illustrations demonstrate the unity of his work by showing Picasso’s art as a dynamic whole united by his exploration of both his past art and invention of new artistic conceptions.

Selected from the collection of the Museo Picasso Málaga and the Fundación Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso (FABA), more than 150 paintings, sculptures, drawings and engravings explore the creative pathways of his art. Extensive photographs of the installation demonstrate the unity of his art through unexpected juxtapositions of works from different decades. More than 30 texts explore the meaning of major individual works. Five ‘focus’ chapters address specialized facets of his practice, including his responses to African sculpture, World War II and the commission to create a huge mural for UNESCO headquarters in Paris.