Picasso and the Chess Player: Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, and the Battle for the Soul of Modern Art

385 Pages·2013·4.23 MB·English

by  Larry Witham

picasso and
the chess player
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L A r r y
W i t h A M player
Pablo Picasso,
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University Press of New England
www.upne.com
© 2013 Larry Witham
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designed by Eric M. Brooks
Typeset in Whitman and Verlag by Passumpsic Publishing
University Press of New England is a member of the
Green Press Initiative. The paper used in this book meets
their minimum requirement for recycled paper.
For permission to reproduce any of the material in this book,
contact Permissions, University Press of New England, One Court
Street, Suite 250, Lebanon NH 03766; or visit www.upne.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Witham, Larry, 1952–
Picasso and the chess player: Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp,
and the battle for the soul of modern art / by Larry Witham.—
1st [edition].
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-1-61168-253-3 (cloth: alk. paper)—
isbn 978-1-61168-349-3 (ebook)
1. Picasso, Pablo, 1881–1973. 2. Duchamp, Marcel, 1887–1968.
3. Artists—France—Biography. 4. Picasso, Pablo, 1881–1973—
Influence. 5. Duchamp, Marcel, 1887–1968—Influence.
6. Modernism (Art) 7. Art, Modern—20th century. I. Title.
nd553.p5w547 2013
709.2'2—dc23 2012034380
[b]
5 4 3 2 1
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If only we could pull out our brain
and use only our eyes.
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)
Painting should not be exclusively retinal
or visual; it should have to do with the gray
matter. . . . That is why I took up chess.
Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968)
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contents
1 “ Sensation of Sensations” 1
2 The Spanish Gaze 9
3 The Notary’s Son 23
4 Bohemian Paris 37
5 Little Cubes 55
6 Modernist Tide 70
7 The Armory Show 81
8 The Return to Order 100
9 A Parisian in America 112
10 Surrealist Bridges 134
11 Europe’s Chessboards 159
12 Flight of the Avant-Garde 186
13 Art in Revolt 212
14 The Readymade 237
15 Picasso’s Last Stand 254
16 The Duchampians 271
17 Year of Picasso, Age of Duchamp 288
Author’s Note 301
Illustration Credits 303
Notes 305
Index 345
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picasso and
the chess player
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