Picasso: The Making of Cubism 1912–1914
Available now as an iPad app or interactive PDF
Dive into one of the most experimental periods in Pablo Picasso’s career with Picasso: The Making of Cubism 1912–1914, the first digital-only publication from The Museum of Modern Art and the first monographic e-book to be authorized by the artist’s estate. This immersive e-book features over 400 high-resolution images and the latest research on 15 groundbreaking works created by Picasso between 1912 and 1914. Edited by Anne Umland, The Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Curator of Painting and Sculpture, MoMA, and Blair Hartzell, independent art historian and curator, the cross-disciplinary project embraces the innovative features of the digital format to present in-depth new scholarship on a breakthrough moment in the history of Cubism and 20th-century art.
Catalyzed by the exhibition Picasso: Guitars 1912–1914, presented at MoMA in 2011, Picasso: The Making of Cubism 1912–1914 draws upon the many insights gathered by curators, scholars, and conservators during first-hand examination of paintings, sculptures, and works on paper in the Museum’s galleries and conservation labs, and in the three intensive years of study since the show. The project marshals the technical and archival resources of the Museum to offer fresh, object-focused research on canonical works of art, serving as both an important new reference and a groundbreaking interpretative resource.
The publication delves into the Picasso’s complex, cross-medium studio practice in the years between 1912 and 1914 by examining his cardboard and sheet metal Guitar constructions alongside the drawings, papiers collés, mixed-medium paintings, photographs, and assemblages made during this period. Each chapter features an illuminating essay by a scholar and is complemented by a wealth of documentation. Featured images range from interactive 360-degree views of constructed sculptures to X-rays and ultraviolet, infrared, and raking-light photographs taken in the conservation lab. Detailed conservation notes offer key insights into the artist’s materials and processes.
Archival documentation includes newly discovered and previously unpublished photographs of Picasso in his studio, as well as an illustrated provenance, exhibition history, and published references for each object. Rare primary-source images show the works in the homes of early collectors, in historical gallery installations, and in early publications, augmenting the physical history of the object with details of its ownership, display, and reception. Video clips of curators and conservators speaking about the objects further enhance the rich interactive study of these objects.
Scott Gerson, private art conservator and former Associate Conservator, MoMA, served as conservation editor. Contributing scholars include Elizabeth Cowling, Professor Emeritus and Honorary Fellow, History of Art, The University of Edinburgh; Jeremy Melius, Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Art History, Tufts University; and Jeffrey Weiss, Adjunct Professor, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and Senior Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Picasso: The Making of Cubism 1912–1914 is available as an iPad app from the App Store and as an interactive and enhanced PDF to be read on laptop or desktop computers using Adobe Reader through momastore.org.
