In this highly acclaimed series, Picasso’s friend and biographer, John Richardson, sets the record straight on the 20th century’s greatest artist. The result is the definitive Picasso biography.

Programme 1 - MAGIC
Richardson starts his compelling account by revealing the influence of magic on the artist’s life and work. The opening film charts Picasso’s progress from his early childhood in Spain to his first great achievements as a poor artist in Paris.

Programme 2 - SEX
The second film assesses the impact of sex on Picasso’s art. Richardson draws on a lifetime’s research to tell the stories of Picasso’s great loves - his first wife Olga, his teenage mistress Marie-Therese Walter, and his ‘weeping woman’, Dora Maar.

Programme 3 - DEATH
The series concludes by exploring Picasso’s lifelong fixation with death. With contributions from his former lover Francoise Gilot and his children Paloma, Claude and Maya Picasso, the film remembers Picasso’s desperate days in wartime Paris and follows his career to his death in the south of France.