Picasso and the Chess Player [electronic resource] : Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, and the Battle for the Soul of Modern Art.

In the fateful year of 1913, events in New York and Paris launched a great public rivalry between the two most consequential artists of the twentieth century, Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp. The New York Armory Show art exhibition unveiled Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, a "sensation of sensations" that prompted Americans to declare Duchamp the leader of cubism, the voice of modern art. In Paris, however, the cubist revolution was reaching its peak around Picasso. In retrospect, these events form a crossroads in art history, a moment when two young bohemians adopted entirely opposite views of the artist, giving birth to the two opposing agendas that would shape all of modern art. Today, the museum-going public views Pablo Picasso as the greatest figure in modern art. Over his long lifetime, Picasso pioneered several new styles as the last great painter in the Western tradition. In the rarefied world of artists, critics, and collectors, however, the most influential artist of the last century was not Picasso, but Marcel Duchamp: chess player, prankster, and a forefather of idea-driven dada, surrealism, and pop art. Picasso and the Chess Player is the story of how Picasso and Duchamp came to define the epochal debate between modern and conceptual art--a drama that features a who's who of twentieth-century art and culture, including Henri Matisse, Gertrude Stein, André Breton, Salvador Dalí, and Andy Warhol. In telling the story, Larry Witham weaves two great art biographies into one tumultuous century.

Author Notes

LARRY WITHAM is the author of Art Schooled and eight other works of nonfiction. He is a journalist and author living in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

The brief meeting between Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp in Paris in 1913 was not particularly memorable or friendly: Picasso's French was poor and Duchamp did not consider Picasso a great painter. As journalist Larry Witham (Art Schooled) deftly argues, the two artists' distinct differences represent a central philosophical and aesthetic fissure in the history and development of modern art. While Picasso viewed modern art as a "visual experiment," Duchamp came to believe that art was about ideas and attitudes, "not about paintings or sculptures." Witham places his subjects in the context of both their own work and the aesthetic debates and movements of the early to late 20th century, with the aim of revealing how Picasso and Duchamp became "monuments and myths," after their deaths. While Picasso "democratized art" for the masses to appreciate, it is Duchamp who set the "intellectual horizon" for "postmodern" art professionals. A convincing and highly readable study whose juxtapositions create its originality. 21 illus. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Choice Review

In this dual biography, journalist and author Witham provides an engaging side-by-side history of modern art's two figureheads, Picasso and Duchamp--artists whose careers and exhibition histories overlap, yet whose artistic practices and philosophies had virtually nothing in common. Witham's exploration of this curious pair asks which of these two artists better embodies the "soul of modern art." In the end, Witham concludes that Picasso, with his focus on artistic practice, won for the masses, while Duchamp's intellectual focus sparked a generation of new artists, movements, and avenues of scholarship. This makes Duchamp the champion of the art world, and the pair the concomitant possessors of the above-mentioned "soul." As Witham freely acknowledges, the narrative of the book leans heavily toward the more apt pontificator, Duchamp, whose legacy is more traceable. While the book provides an engrossing account of both artists--their upbringings, personal lives, political leanings, and approaches to work--the presentation of information is highly journalistic. Containing only 21 images, scant visual analysis, and few notes, Witham's book is an excellent and engrossing casual read for general enthusiasts, but is neither intended nor suitable for research. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers. A. Verplaetse Regis University

Library Journal Review

When discussing modern art, two names may dominate the conversation: Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp. While the two artists were never confidants or collaborators, both came to represent some of the biggest struggles of the modern art world-namely, what that movement actually was and who was its true leader. Here Witham (Art Schooled: A Year Among Prodigies, Rebels, and Visionaries at a World-Class Art College) dissects the life and work of the two artists and the fracture that exists in modern art because of their rivalry. The competition between the two mean began at the 1913 New York Armory Show art exhibition, where Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase was thought by Americans to be the definitive example of Cubism, while Picasso had the Parisian Cubists convinced that he was the true father of the style. Witham examines Picasso's enduring legacy as the Cubist forefather for the museum-going masses but positions Duchamp as the favored artist for gallerists and collectors. VERDICT This thoughtful overview of modern art as a whole, punctuated by the movement's two most enigmatic figures, will appeal to fans of art history, particularly modernism.-Alyssa Vincent, Univ. of Chicago (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

"Sensation of Sensations"

The Spanish Gaze

The Notary's Son

Bohemian Paris

Little Cubes

Modernist Tide

The Armory Show

The Return to Order

A Parisian in America

Surrealist Bridge

Europe's Chessboards

Flight of the Avant-Garde

Art in Revolt

The Readymade

Picasso's Last Stand

The Duchampians

Year of Picasso, Age of Duchamp

Author's Notes

Illustrations Credits

Notes

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