Life of Picasso

John Richardson's riveting memoir about growing up in England and, at twenty-five, beginning his twelve-year adventure with the controversial art collector Douglas Cooper.

Picasso is known as the godfather of modern art. In this programme, art historian David Dibosa explores six decades of BBC archive to discover how television has influenced our understanding of him. David reveals how film-makers have portrayed two different Picassos - the child genius who drew like a master and the adult who rejected his conventional talent in a quest to reflect the world, in ways that shattered all the rules. He also finds that film-makers have long been fascinated by Picasso’s private life. A notorious womaniser, Picasso used his lovers as muses and left behind a trail of broken relationships.