Hidden Portraits: Six Women Who Shaped Picasso’s Life

In six biographical essays, Roe (The Private Lives of the Impressionists) paints a detailed study of the women who inspired, loved, and troubled Pablo Picasso: models Fernande Olivier and Marie-Thérèse Walter, ballerina Olga Khokhlova, painters Dora Maar and Françoise Gilot, and Picasso’s widow, Jacqueline Roque. Drawing from her subjects’ diaries and letters, Roe examines their impact on Picasso’s life and work—most posed for him, Khokhlova and Roque married him, Gilot gave birth to two of his four children—and crafts comprehensive accounts of each woman’s life before and after they crossed paths with the painter. Along the way, the narrative dips into the bustling art scene of Montmartre, the tumultuous political landscape of early-20th-century Russia, and the Nazi occupation of Paris, providing context for the forces that shaped the women who shaped one of the key figures in modern art. Despite Roe’s mission to highlight the ambitions of women who were often overshadowed by Picasso, however, it’s hard to ignore his looming presence over the account. Certain chapters, meanwhile, struggle to justify their length, while others feel overly compressed. Still, this offers art historians and casual readers alike some stimulating food for thought. (Nov.)