The Psychological Roots of Modernism: Picasso and Jung

A radically new interpretation of Picassos life and work by an important Jungian scholar, The Psychological Roots of Modernism is an exciting contribution to the fields of both Jungian psychology and cultural criticism.All of Picassos major works, from the Blue period masterpieces to the abstractions of mature Cubism, are examined as part of a single narrative which directly challenges our assumptions, and the views of a number of prominent art historians, and provides an entirely new perspective on the signature achievements of the modernist movement. Beginning with Picassos first months in Paris, the author shows how Picassos art evolved as a heros journey, involving encounter with the unconscious, the emergence of a strengthened ego, and the eventual balance of the ego and the unconscious which attained visible expression in the forms of Cubism. Through the Jungian framework, the reader is able to understand how not only Picassos art, but his relations to his mistress and colleagues, his changing lifestyle and work habits, and his attraction to major Modernist figures like Rousseau and Cezanne were expressions of this psychological transformation. While using Jung to illuminate Picasso, The Psychological Roots of Modernism also employs Picasso to illuminate Jung, providing the clearest and most compelling support for the bedrock principles of analytical psychology. The books powerful application of Jungs psychology and its radically new perspectives on Picassos art make it essential reading for students in the fields of art history and Freudian and Jungian psychology.