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Picasso a diario is a project by Rafael Inglada (Málaga, 1963), poet, editor, Picasso biographer, and head of publications at Museo Casa Natal Picasso since 1989. The project, which began in August 1996 following his participation in the Summer Courses of El Escorial, has grown considerably over time, ultimately expanding into four volumes.The first volume, titled De Málaga a Fontainebleau 1881-1921, spans from Picasso’s childhood in Málaga to the birth of his first son, Paul Picasso. It opens with a foreword by art historian Diana Widmaier-Ruiz-Picasso, the artist’s granddaughter, who recalls:
«My mother, Maya Widmaier-Ruiz-Picasso, immediately understood the importance of this research work when she met Rafael Inglada in January 2000»
This first volume, with 700 pages, features hundreds of names, organized in an index and accompanied by a bibliography that compiles studies and biographies up to the latest available data in 2023.
The second volume, titled De Dinard a la Guerra Civil española 1922-1939, covers Picasso's surrealist years and the entrance of Marie-Thérèse Walter into his life, through to the end of the Spanish Civil War and the onset of World War II.
The third volume, De la II Guerra Mundial a La Californie 1940-1958, chronicles Picasso’s life and work during the Nazi occupation of Paris and his political engagement, through his ceramic works and his years in La Californie, his villa in Cannes.
The fourth and final volume, De Vauvenargues a Notre-Dame-de-Vie 1959-1973, focuses on Picasso’s final years, spent in his last two residences in the French towns of Vauvenargues and Mougins, where he continued his prolific work as a painter, draftsman, sculptor, and engraver.
This project may be the first time that so much data on the Málaga-born master has been consolidated—not only about his artistic life but also his personal one. To achieve this, the author has researched countless archives, reviewed hundreds of books with specific dates that helped build this biography, and consulted newspaper archives, exhibition catalogues, and conducted conversations with Picasso’s family and friends.
The primary aim of the project is to create the most comprehensive compendium possible of everything known about the artist to date. It is not intended to be an exhaustive catalog of his works but rather a journey through them to better understand Picasso’s stages and evolution, alongside his personal life—his travels, family, exhibitions, lovers, hobbies, social engagements, wives, children, and more.
This entirely chronological book is backed by a wealth of data and is supported by Picasso’s own family. In 2000, Claude Ruiz-Picasso (1947-2023), the artist’s son, invited the author to Paris for a week to access family archives and visit key locations related to Picasso’s life. Maya Widmaier Ruiz-Picasso has also closely followed the progress of this work, and the Fundación Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso has provided all the necessary support for Picasso a diario.
The project is further endorsed by renowned art critics, international biographers, and prestigious institutions. Collaborating on the project are institutions such as the Museu Picasso (Barcelona), Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (Madrid), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid), and the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. Internationally, institutions such as the Musée Réatu (Arles), Pinacoteca Agnelli (Turin), São Paulo Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum (Ohio), Queensland Art Gallery (Brisbane, Australia), The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Baltimore Museum, and the National Gallery of Washington have also lent their support.
For the illustrations in this first volume, the author has selected key works by Picasso, offering a visual journey through his early academic training, the blue and rose periods, and the stages of cubism with Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, up to his classical phase. Among the graphic contributions is an unpublished letter by Picasso from 1905, along with works that have rarely been exhibited.
Picasso a diario also includes a bibliography focused on the years covered in the volume and an index with hundreds of names to assist future research.
Finally, the complete title given to the project by Rafael Inglada is Picasso a diario (1881-1973). La ciencia del hombre(“The Science of Man”), derived from a statement Picasso made to the photographer Brassaï. Now, in 2023, the fiftieth anniversary of Picasso's death, this project can be realized thanks to the Museo Casa Natal Picasso in Málaga:
«Why do you think I date everything I do? Because it’s not enough to know an artist’s works. You also need to know when they were made, why, how, and under what circumstances. Surely one day there will be a science, perhaps called the ‘science of man,’ that will seek to understand man more deeply through the creator. I think a lot about this science and try to leave as much documentation as possible for posterity. That’s why I date everything I do.»
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