Catherine Daunt

An illuminating guide to history’s most influential and inspiring artists – from Leonardo da Vinci to Frida Kahlo – and how they can teach us to see the world more clearly. How did the greatest artists in history look at the world through new eyes? And what can we learn from the imagination, boldness and originality of their art? From the allusive frescos of the Renaissance to the cool irony of conceptual art in the 20th century, this is the ultimate guide to the greatest artists of the human age. Curator and writer Catherine Daunt interweaves the lives and loves of these great artists with moving and enlightening descriptions of their most famous and important works. This book takes the reader on a whirlwind journey through the greatest art of all time, and shows us how we can understand and interpret them. Daunt re-examines the canon, traditionally dominated by Western, white and male artists, and makes space for major figures from other cultures and traditions, as well as those who have been traditionally overlooked because of their gender or class. Every artist in this book has made a revolutionary contribution to art, changing the way that we view, depict and navigate our world.

Picasso was one of the most creative and experimental talents ever to explore the medium of print. This book charts his career as a printmaker, which was characterised by close collaboration with skilled printers, through which extraordinary artworks were produced. Picasso was one of the most creative and experimental talents ever to explore the medium of print. This book charts his career as a printmaker, which was characterised by close collaboration with skilled printers, through which extraordinary artworks were produced. Together with a stunning selection of works on paper by Picasso, it also includes sculptures, drawings and prints by other artists and cultures of the kind that inspired Picasso. His prints often demonstrate his keen sense of belonging to an artistic lineage stretching back to antiquity (stemming from his kinship with the Mediterranean world of his birthplace, Málaga), as well as great artists of the past such as Raphael, Rembrandt and Ingres. One section explores the contradictions and controversies relating to Picasso's relationships with his wives and lovers. The focus on Picasso as a printmaker will argue for the importance of this activity in his long artistic career, and his continued relevance as one of the most creative and experimental talents ever to explore the medium of print.