1 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:13,240 In May 1970, aged 89, three years before his death, 2 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:18,240 Pablo Picasso displayed with no frames on bare stone walls a large 3 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:19,880 number of his latest paintings. 4 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:24,640 These crude, raw, 5 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:30,000 provocatively sexual images were met with confusion and disappointment, 6 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:31,080 if not horror. 7 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:36,440 Flocking to venerate Picasso, the colossus of modern art, 8 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:40,160 his admirers expected echoes of museum masterpieces - 9 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:41,840 the compassion of the Blue Period... 10 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:44,640 ..or the inventiveness of Cubism. 11 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,440 By comparison, they judged the new work as incomprehensible, 12 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:53,240 evidence of terminal decline. 13 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:56,840 Were they right? 14 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:01,160 Or had they missed a final statement of artistic genius? 15 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:05,720 Parts of the society in the European country, even in America, 16 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:11,880 described Picasso as a Communist, as a pornograph, as an antichrist. 17 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:15,360 And most of the population, they were against Picasso. 18 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,480 Picasso always managed to shock and horrify people. 19 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:25,680 Even people who loved his work, I mean, just didn't get it. 20 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:30,600 It was too new. 21 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:38,120 They didn't understand that revolution in line, in colour. 22 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,480 They always said, oh, it's not the Picasso we have known. 23 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,840 The great Pablo Picasso was thoroughly feted 24 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:49,640 at his French Riviera home on his 80th birthday. 25 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,280 Ten years earlier, the titan of the 20th century had 26 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:54,480 been on top of the world. 27 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:57,360 Public interest in him was insatiable. 28 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:03,360 The bullfight-loving millionaire T-shirted genius seemed invincible. 29 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:05,920 Or so he thought. 30 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:07,880 "I can say shit to anyone!" he said. 31 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,760 I think the newspapers are always out for a star, 32 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:16,320 ideally a movie star. 33 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:22,160 But Picasso had the allure of a movie star. 34 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:23,800 I don't know why. 35 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:24,840 But it just happened. 36 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,120 And Picasso hated it, 37 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:34,960 but I think secretly got a certain amount of enjoyment out of being a 38 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:37,160 superstar in the eyes of the world. 39 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,760 But in his last decade, Picasso came under attack on all fronts - 40 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,000 as a Communist obsessed with property, 41 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,240 a man who left a trail of broken relationships behind him 42 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:52,240 and a great artist with nothing left to say. 43 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,120 The criticisms of Pablo, the man, may have been valid, 44 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:01,440 but could it be that Picasso, the artist, had yet again wrong-footed 45 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:03,760 his critics and that, in fact, 46 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,320 he'd counter-attacked with some of his greatest art? 47 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:09,720 Breathtakingly daring painting. 48 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,440 Revealing his obsessions and vulnerability 49 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,160 in old age with searing, triumphant honesty. 50 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,400 To see these pictures is to get to know Picasso 51 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:21,200 as if for the first time. 52 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,840 Picasso wanted his private life to be extremely hidden. 53 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:46,280 He just wanted to lead a quiet, normal life. 54 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:50,040 But, occasionally, people got through the fortifications and ended 55 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:51,160 up in the studio. 56 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,960 Picasso allowed in only the most trusted friends 57 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,080 to witness the creative chaos. 58 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,400 Everything had to be left exactly where he'd dropped it. 59 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:06,320 Among the few he welcomed were his British biographer, Roland Penrose, 60 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,200 photographer Lee Miller and their son, Antony. 61 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,880 The first time I was really conscious of visiting his home was when we 62 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,320 were in Cannes and we went to see him in Villa La Californie. 63 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:19,800 I was about 15. 64 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:25,520 And I remember the cavernous interior. 65 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:28,960 As a small child, it seemed much bigger than it probably was. 66 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,920 But the most wonderful thing was the clutter everywhere - 67 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,080 the works of art and things he'd collected and so on - 68 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,520 in the most fabulous confusion, all over the place. 69 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:44,560 I turned to my mum and I said, "Has Picasso just moved in here?" 70 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,600 And she said, "No, he's lived here for a couple of years." 71 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,680 In his last decade, Picasso produced more artworks than ever before. 72 00:04:57,560 --> 00:04:59,600 To keep the press at bay, 73 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:02,520 he agreed to a few carefully choreographed photoshoots. 74 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:13,000 Photography was something that Picasso understood instinctively. 75 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,920 And when he was in the presence of photographers, it was almost like a performance. 76 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,120 He knew exactly what they were seeing through the viewfinder 77 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:24,080 and he would respond so they would get the best possible image. 78 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:27,600 And that's why he always looks so good on camera. 79 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:36,640 But there's a paradox here because the Picasso we see in the photographs 80 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,920 is a simplified version of the real thing. 81 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:45,920 And, actually, underneath that image lay a very complicated, a very, 82 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:50,880 sometimes conflicted, a deeply passionate person. 83 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:04,840 What he's showing us is almost the persona that he wants us to take away 84 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:09,040 rather than revealing his true inner self to us. 85 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:30,840 When Gary Cooper came and he gave an Indian chief's headdress eagle feathers, 86 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:35,880 Picasso put it on. It was just getting on toward evening. 87 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:41,040 And behind him, the door was open, so no reflection from the glass. 88 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,680 Black, headdress. 89 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:45,040 He turned sideways. 90 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:47,880 At that moment, 91 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,200 unbelievable! 92 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:53,000 He sucked in his cheeks. 93 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:55,960 He became an American Indian. 94 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,280 He changed his own profile, just like that. 95 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:00,720 Talk about a great actor. 96 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,920 I'm watching him. What's this guy thinking about? 97 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,800 Where is he? I never knew. 98 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,400 Where is he? Not in my world, that's for sure. 99 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:17,920 Up till now, this performance of supreme self-confidence kept the public satisfied. 100 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:19,360 But times were a-changing. 101 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:25,480 Francoise Gilot, who'd been Picasso's partner for ten years, 102 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,520 and had left him eight years earlier, set to work on a revealing memoir. 103 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,200 Her book not only told of his work but also of the painful breakdown of 104 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:36,200 their relationship. 105 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:39,120 Such an account was unprecedented. 106 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:41,920 Picasso was stunned. 107 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:54,240 In 1964, he failed to halt Francoise Gilot's publication in America. 108 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:57,800 And the following year, he failed again in France. 109 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:00,960 Fortress Picasso had been breached. 110 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:05,800 "I congratulate you," he said to her. 111 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,440 "You know I always like a winner." 112 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:10,480 He never spoke to Francoise again. 113 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:03,280 Oui. 114 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:16,680 Gilot's memoir revealed Picasso's infidelity and his controlling nature. 115 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:19,920 The book sold nearly a million copies worldwide. 116 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:21,560 Fame became notoriety. 117 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:28,080 To his horror, the hidden detail of his private life was on show for all to see. 118 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,680 I think that he was disturbed by Francoise's book 119 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:55,840 because it was very accurate. 120 00:09:55,840 --> 00:10:00,880 One couldn't get him to discuss it in any detail 121 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:05,920 because he clearly felt that she'd got a bit too close to his private life, 122 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:07,320 and this was sacred. 123 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:20,280 A successful artist herself, Francoise Gilot even dared to attack 124 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:21,760 Picasso's current work. 125 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:28,400 She told him, "I always looked upon Cubism as the period of pure painting 126 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:30,280 "and that he'd done nothing greater." 127 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:37,800 To his fury, she was repeating the critical consensus that America had 128 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:40,560 become the epicentre of modern art, 129 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:45,720 and that, by the 1960s, abstraction had become an orthodoxy, 130 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:50,640 leaving Picasso, the figurative painter, a relic from a previous age. 131 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,120 He had total contempt for abstraction. 132 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:01,880 He hated American art. 133 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:05,520 He went his own way. 134 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:07,280 And he... 135 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:11,480 felt that he was still the greatest painter in the world, 136 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:13,840 which, let's face it, he was. 137 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:18,520 And there was no reason why he should not go on. 138 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:22,560 I mean, what he wanted was just to 139 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:26,920 go on visualising the world as he saw it. 140 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:38,240 A few months later, another bombshell. 141 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,520 A former champion of Picasso's political work, 142 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:44,640 British art critic John Berger 143 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:47,680 wrote a devastating attack on what he claimed to be Picasso's 144 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:49,480 loss of direction. 145 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:57,240 There is a very direct sense of humanity, I think, 146 00:11:57,240 --> 00:11:58,880 always, in Picasso. 147 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,120 He is concerned only with the world of men 148 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:04,960 and what happens to men with feeling. 149 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,920 But there is a limitation in Picasso. 150 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,360 And it's what I see as the tragedy of Picasso. 151 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,320 You see, if you are that kind of extrovert artist... 152 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:27,880 ..you need a theme - that's to say, significant subjects - 153 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,480 constantly fed to you. 154 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:35,400 Now, I think the difficulty that Picasso has had is that he hasn't 155 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:37,720 been able to find these themes. 156 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,280 First of all, he did in the waif pictures. 157 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:45,440 And then he did in Cubism. 158 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:48,240 The theme of this was the theme of painting itself, 159 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:49,840 a new language of painting. 160 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:53,560 And then, later, there was Guernica. 161 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:56,200 But, often, he has been without themes. 162 00:12:57,360 --> 00:12:59,000 It is to do with his personality. 163 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:00,600 Although, heaven forbid, 164 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,400 I don't mean that in the sense that his personality is... 165 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:07,360 ..exploited by all the gossip columnists. 166 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:09,640 But somehow, when you consider Picasso, 167 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,960 it is the spirit of the man rather than any single work which dominates 168 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:15,000 and is so striking. 169 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:17,840 Picasso was distraught. 170 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:23,000 In a very short time, his personal and public reputation had been trashed. 171 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:27,440 For the first time in his life, at the age of 84, 172 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:29,120 he suffered a physical collapse. 173 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:34,160 In great secrecy, he was rushed to the American Hospital of Paris for 174 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:35,760 major surgery on his stomach. 175 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,880 Before, when we saw him in 1965... 176 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:48,240 ..we didn't really notice that he had not been well. 177 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:55,600 And the only thing was that my father had always suffered from stomach ulcers, 178 00:13:55,600 --> 00:14:00,000 and Picasso asked him often, 179 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,640 what did you do and how did it work... 180 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:05,520 ..how are you now? 181 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:06,920 And later on, 182 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:12,040 we learned that he had been suffering from a stomach ulcer also. 183 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:17,200 But until that period, we never really realised that he was not so well. 184 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:28,520 The wall of secrecy around Picasso's operation was soon breached. 185 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:32,480 Every newspaper discussed his condition with morbid curiosity. 186 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,120 After a month in hospital, he returned to convalesce in Mougins, 187 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:38,920 his country retreat in the south of France. 188 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,080 Security was upgraded 189 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,960 and the enormous burden of care fell to his new wife, Jacqueline. 190 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:50,400 I think what he demanded from his wife or lover, what have you, 191 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,160 was total reliability 192 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:56,440 because it was a very, very arduous job. 193 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:00,480 He wanted her with him as much of the day as possible. 194 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:02,320 So she would have to get up at... 195 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:07,720 ..seven in the morning and do all the household chores, 196 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:12,120 going into the local town, buying the food, going to the bank, 197 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,280 mailing things, 198 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:19,160 all the rest of it, and had to be back by 10 o'clock, 199 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:21,040 when Picasso woke. 200 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:26,280 And then she had to be on duty from ten o'clock till he finished painting, 201 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:28,520 which could be midnight or two in the morning. 202 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:37,320 Francoise was exceedingly intelligent, 203 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:41,000 came from an excellent background, 204 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:43,440 was very educated 205 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:45,200 and very sophisticated. 206 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:51,560 Her replacement, as it were, Jacqueline, was... 207 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:55,120 ..very much the opposite. 208 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,960 But she performed incredibly well. 209 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:04,880 Recovery was slow, 210 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:08,200 and Jacqueline needed huge reserves of patience to cope with him. 211 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:12,960 Picasso was unable to stand up comfortably to paint. 212 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:15,240 And his depression deepened. 213 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:22,600 But he found comfort and some solace in etching. 214 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:28,000 When we first could see him again, he was doing more drawings, 215 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:29,800 graphic works and so on. 216 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:36,360 All of a sudden, he had the idea of doing a portrait again of me. 217 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:42,760 And Jacqueline said, "Oh, life is starting again." 218 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:44,880 She was very happy about that. 219 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:52,280 We started at about eight or nine in the evening. 220 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:56,560 And when he was finished, it was by ten o'clock. 221 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:02,840 And he immediately phoned the Crommelynck brothers, who always pulled these... 222 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:05,960 ..graphic works for him, 223 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:07,880 not thinking that, at ten at night, 224 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:11,720 they would perhaps have a rest or so. 225 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:15,640 He was working so the others had to work, too. 226 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,880 And they came immediately, took the plate, 227 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,600 brought them back again with the proofs. 228 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:26,000 And he looked at it and agreed. 229 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,760 And then it was already about midnight when he finished. 230 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:44,400 His sense of humour was marvellous. 231 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:47,880 And he liked to make a little joke. 232 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:53,520 For instance, one day, he was talking about my portraits. 233 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:57,960 And he said, "Oh, the next one we do as Maja desnuda," 234 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:02,520 "the Goya." And he had fun because I... 235 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,320 I blush... 236 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,760 ..blushed... I don't know the word. 237 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:11,840 Yes, blushed! Blushed, yes. Oh, he was so amused! 238 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:14,440 Of course, he never did a portrait like that. 239 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,160 But he liked to do things like that. 240 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:25,560 Picasso's energy levels continued to fluctuate. 241 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:31,040 By the end of 1965, he was still too weak to paint large canvases. 242 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,640 But in the hope that his etching work would continue, 243 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:40,600 master printers Aldo and Piero Crommelynck had already joined Picasso in the south of France. 244 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:47,720 But, to their frustration, Picasso remained unable to work full-time. 245 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,880 With his faithful retinue, including the Crommelyncks, 246 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:55,680 he went instead to the bullfights and the beach. 247 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:00,160 Everyone waited impatiently and nervously for him to get back 248 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:01,160 to serious work. 249 00:20:26,120 --> 00:20:27,320 Crommelynck! 250 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:33,760 THEY SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE 251 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:34,800 Merci! 252 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:40,560 By mid-November 1966, Picasso was clearly on the mend. 253 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:46,000 The Crommelyncks printed his first comic experiments, combining etching and aquatint. 254 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,720 And there was something in the choice of subject that confirmed a 255 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:49,960 returning sense of vigour. 256 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:56,880 The Picasso show was back on the road. 257 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,960 He even gave his first-ever TV interview. 258 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:07,280 As a Spaniard, Picasso had always been wary of speaking French in public. 259 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:11,320 But now the opportunity to influence opinion in his favour seemed irresistible. 260 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:37,120 Picasso's campaign to restore his reputation was helped by an authorised interview. 261 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:40,160 It was with Helene Parmelin, a writer close to him. 262 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:46,000 She directly contradicted Francoise Gilot's negative portrait of Picasso, 263 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,560 presenting someone more open-minded and freethinking, 264 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:52,040 a charming whirlwind of creativity. 265 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:03,480 Notoriety and criticism hadn't damaged Picasso's pre-war legacy. 266 00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:07,440 In the autumn of 1966, 267 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:09,520 his largest-ever retrospective 268 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,000 was unveiled at the Grand Palais in Paris. 269 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:20,480 6,000 visitors a day were to marvel at his past achievements. 270 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:24,040 But Picasso refused to join the celebration. 271 00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:26,960 He wasn't interested in past glories. 272 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:33,760 He'd recovered sufficiently to stand all day with a paintbrush in his hand, 273 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:36,800 working on a new series of very large paintings. 274 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:42,480 As I'm about to be 93... 275 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,800 ..um... 276 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:45,840 ..I think I can... 277 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,400 ..understand what he must have felt. 278 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:55,400 And that is, however old you get, you're very lucky be alive. 279 00:23:55,400 --> 00:24:00,120 And if you are, so long as you're active, you keep going, 280 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:02,800 you do whatever you've been doing all your life, 281 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:04,640 that was the way Picasso felt. 282 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,040 I mean, he worked away like crazy. 283 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:34,960 I would say that most of Picasso paintings are self portraits. 284 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:40,400 In the '60s, you would look a lot at television, 285 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:42,520 and see so many series - 286 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:44,600 Musketeers and, you know, 287 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:48,840 those kind of series of the '60s on television, 288 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:55,040 and I think he was inspired by those television programmes. 289 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:56,120 Fight! 290 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:35,600 Picasso's new paintings were playful and self-deprecating. 291 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:39,040 A swashbuckling hero, fighting for honour and justice, 292 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:40,520 with an old-fashioned sword. 293 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,560 It was the perfect comic role for an artist trying to change the way 294 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:48,320 we see, with an old-fashioned paintbrush. 295 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:55,560 We're way back in terms of subject. 296 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:59,400 But we're way ahead in terms of the new force in his painting. 297 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,520 A last great enormous attempt to 298 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,920 go on being the greatest modern artist 299 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:08,600 of his time. I feel that very strongly. 300 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,160 The originality of these images, 301 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:13,600 in that, I mean, he's not just 302 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:17,240 redoing old things and not becoming enfeebled. 303 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:21,160 On the contrary, he's becoming stronger and stronger and stronger. 304 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:22,560 Right up to the end of his life. 305 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:36,360 The fact of death, I think, was driving him. 306 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:40,760 And I think it was driving him back to Spain, in some ways. 307 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,440 Since the Civil War, Picasso had 308 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:04,920 been a Spaniard in self-imposed exile. 309 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,840 He had an enviable Mediterranean lifestyle. 310 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:15,000 But, as he said, a man belongs to his own country, forever. 311 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:23,360 There were times when he did feel quite agonised about being shut out 312 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:25,240 of his own country. 313 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,280 There was so much of the Spaniard in him, 314 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,400 even after those decades of living in France. 315 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:36,360 In 1936, 316 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:39,720 after Roland and Picasso had been together in the South of France, 317 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:43,120 Roland was so inspired by 318 00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:47,200 Picasso's anguish concerning the Spanish Civil War, 319 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:51,960 he thought he had to go to Spain and see what it was all about. 320 00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:55,800 When Roland arrived in Barcelona, 321 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:59,040 he went and found Picasso's mother and his sister. 322 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:02,920 And his mum said, "Oh, I'm so glad, 323 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:05,360 "today's the first day I can open the window, 324 00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:08,800 "because the monastery that's burning two blocks away, 325 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:11,280 "the smoke has been blowing in all the time." 326 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:14,840 They were in a war zone, that's how it was. 327 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:20,800 And Picasso was fascinated to hear first-hand all the news that Roland 328 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:24,200 could bring back to him in Paris. 329 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:28,920 And that was kind of like the first direct news that Picasso had had for 330 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:30,720 quite a long time of his own family. 331 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:55,080 For Picasso, it was as if the Spanish Civil War had never ended. 332 00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:00,600 In 1937, General Franco had ordered the fascists to bomb Guernica. 333 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,200 BOOM 334 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:08,440 Picasso vowed never to return while the dictator was still alive. 335 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,600 He yearned ceaselessly for Spain 336 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:14,440 but found comfort in his fellow 337 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:18,280 countryman Jaime Sabartes, a lifelong friend, 338 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:21,320 secretary, and butt of his jokes. 339 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:28,600 Sabartes was his shadow, I think, in a way. 340 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:34,000 He'd known Picasso when they were all young, back in Barcelona, 341 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,800 in the old days. He worshipped Picasso. 342 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:40,320 He always had done. I mean, since he was 14 or 15. 343 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:44,200 And Picasso needed Sabartes. 344 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:47,680 I mean, Sabartes was crucially important to his... 345 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:51,840 ..his life. But Picasso loved 346 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:56,040 getting the better of Sabartes, or making little 347 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:57,320 traps for Sabartes. 348 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:00,480 For instance, one of the things he did - every night, 349 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:04,680 Sabartes would come very late at night, midnight or later, 350 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,120 to see what was in the trash cans. 351 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:12,720 Because Picasso threw a lot of stuff away - drawings and things. 352 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:17,480 And one night, Picasso wrote on a piece of paper, "Sabartes..." 353 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:19,320 HE SPEAKS FRENCH 354 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:21,720 "Sabartes, you are a..." ..rude word. 355 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,720 And he put that at the bottom of the dustbin. 356 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:27,960 And then he piled all of the stuff up. 357 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:32,760 And he knew that Sabartes would come later, after midnight, 358 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:34,600 and he would take everything out. 359 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:38,520 And all he'd find at the bottom was a very rude message. 360 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:44,320 This was Picasso's idea of black fun, I think, in a way. 361 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:48,560 But it sort of typifies the kind of relationship they had. 362 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:52,040 Picasso played endless tricks like that. 363 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:59,000 In February 1968, Sabartes died. 364 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:02,640 Another key link with his past had been severed. 365 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:07,040 Now, it seemed, he was alone with his memories. 366 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:12,240 Within a month, Picasso began a major series of etchings, 367 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:14,640 conjuring up his youthful adventures in Spain. 368 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:25,320 He's thinking about his childhood. 369 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:27,320 About his father, who seems to be 370 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:29,680 always kind of omnipresent in his work. 371 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:35,160 He spent a lot of time in Barcelona, 372 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:37,640 going to the so-called school of life, 373 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:41,160 paying frequent visits to some brothels. 374 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,120 There he became friendly with some prostitutes. 375 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:49,240 And we know that very early on he was exposed to some dramas, 376 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:51,920 such as the play of Celestina, 377 00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:55,760 which might have shaped his mind and heart. 378 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:59,160 But, yes, Celestina is definitely an echo to his own life. 379 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:16,160 Celestina is one of the greatest characters in Spanish literature. 380 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:20,000 It's a character which was invented in the Renaissance by this great 381 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:23,040 writer - Fernando de Rojas. 382 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:29,240 It tells the story of a woman who is the tenant of a brothel and she's 383 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:34,120 helping a desperate couple to solve their love affair. 384 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:46,600 Celestina is cruel. 385 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:52,160 She's cruel because she's helping but at the same time this help leads 386 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:54,440 to the execution of the characters. 387 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:05,000 It's a tragicomedy, which is something Picasso was always 388 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:06,920 attracted to throughout his life. 389 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:19,360 In old age, Picasso was also haunted by the image of his father, 390 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:21,720 which unexpectedly came to life. 391 00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:11,400 Picasso's work was a fusion of observation, memory and fantasy. 392 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:16,600 For his next series of prints, he was inspired by a story of the 393 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:18,720 artist Raphael, which he used as a 394 00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:21,120 metaphor for his own erotic fantasies. 395 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:28,800 La Fornarina was a baker's daughter who'd ignited the great painter's 396 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:34,040 passions. According to the myth, Raphael's excessive lovemaking to 397 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:36,440 her brought on a fever, which led to 398 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:38,920 his premature death at the age of 37. 399 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:48,720 It's one of the great mystical and mythical stories of the pantheon of 400 00:35:48,720 --> 00:35:51,160 love and art. One can see that 401 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:56,400 Raphael and La Fornarina is a kind of metaphor, again, of Picasso's 402 00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:58,320 relation with the model. 403 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:03,680 The story of the painter and the model is definitely the obsession of 404 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:05,720 his life. 405 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:08,640 For Rafael, just like for Picasso, 406 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:12,680 painting and making love is the same thing and Picasso is always dreaming 407 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:17,320 of his ideal model, and how you can capture the model, 408 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:20,400 how you lose your identity within the model, 409 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:23,400 how you project yourself within someone else, 410 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:25,320 and become someone new again. 411 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:43,880 TV: De Gaulle is certainly in sticky situation. 412 00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:47,720 In May 1968, 413 00:36:47,720 --> 00:36:52,680 Picasso switched on his television and watched as student unrest rocked 414 00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:54,280 the nation. 415 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:57,160 The youth of France were pushing the country to the brink of civil war. 416 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:07,320 The old artist was energised by the mood of social and sexual liberation. 417 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:12,880 It was definitely a period where things were moving. 418 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:19,040 1968 is a big social revolution, and for someone like Picasso, 419 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:23,920 whose entire life is devoted to affirming the power of freedom, 420 00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:26,560 it is something that he felt very connected with. 421 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:34,760 Erotic movies were available very early on in the beginning of the 422 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:39,400 20th century but in the '60s, some of the close-ups are really striking. 423 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:49,320 And then, with some of the prints, it's a bit the same. 424 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:52,840 With the play of costume, 425 00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:57,880 you were, like, constantly unveiling certain parts of the body and giving 426 00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:00,760 the eyes the sensation of close-up, 427 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:05,800 so I think these cinematographic effects somehow is something that 428 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:07,920 Picasso was very well trained in. 429 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:12,960 The series - Raphael and La Fornarina - went on show 430 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:15,480 immediately, but its publicity was, 431 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:18,040 unsurprisingly, limited. 432 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:22,280 The editor of Time magazine refused to publish what he called, 433 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:25,800 "the inappropriate imaginings of a senile, dirty old man." 434 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:30,840 I think people have the wrong idea about old age. 435 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:35,800 You don't necessarily stop screwing at 70 or 75, or whatever it is. 436 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,600 I mean, I'm 93, 437 00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:45,320 and I'm surprised to find that one's sexual feelings continue 438 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:48,640 for quite a long time. 439 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:54,360 And I don't think Picasso became 440 00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:58,040 non-sexual, impotent or anything of the sort. 441 00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:01,840 I think he went on screwing as long as he possibly could. 442 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:08,720 On the 25th of October, 1968, 443 00:39:08,720 --> 00:39:12,760 Picasso celebrated his 87th birthday in private. 444 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:14,600 With nothing to report, 445 00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:17,520 global news agencies merely updated their obituaries. 446 00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:22,400 Behind closed doors, with astonishing vigour, 447 00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:27,440 Picasso began to paint dozens of large, urgent, direct images. 448 00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:31,200 Seeking to portray the inescapable 449 00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:34,320 truths of life and the indignity of ageing. 450 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:39,800 Picasso turned to me and said, 451 00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:43,040 "We have to look for something that develops on its own, 452 00:39:43,040 --> 00:39:46,120 "something natural and not manufactured. 453 00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:49,480 "It has to evolve just as it is in its natural shape 454 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:51,480 "and not its shape in art. 455 00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:55,920 "Grass like grass, a tree like a tree and a nude like a nude. 456 00:39:55,920 --> 00:40:00,840 "We do the same thing over and over again, and yet we could do anything. 457 00:40:00,840 --> 00:40:02,960 "What is there to stop us? 458 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:05,400 "The great quest for freedom has begun again." 459 00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:32,080 Picasso was pushing figurative art 460 00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:34,080 in new directions but his expressive 461 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:36,240 marks and elemental imagery had an 462 00:40:36,240 --> 00:40:39,560 origin and inspiration from another time. 463 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:43,240 I think, in 1965, 464 00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:50,000 one can already feel what he would do in 1967, '68. 465 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,680 The revolution is beginning here. 466 00:40:56,560 --> 00:41:00,680 In Arles, they would do bullfights and Picasso, 467 00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:05,920 he would travel from the South of France, from the Cote d'Azur, 468 00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:09,640 to Arles, to see that bullfight. 469 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:15,880 And so, he had to go through the countryside where van Gogh painted. 470 00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:24,160 You will see, here, really, he took pleasure in painting that. 471 00:41:24,160 --> 00:41:26,320 He marked it, 472 00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:33,280 it's a quick painting, and it's a very loose and the strokes, 473 00:41:33,280 --> 00:41:36,160 and when you are close, 474 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:41,560 you don't even see that these are mountains but when you go backwards, 475 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:47,840 you will feel that these are really the picture of the area, with these 476 00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:50,440 very wild, strange mountains. 477 00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:57,200 Picasso carried with him this cutting, 478 00:41:57,200 --> 00:42:01,440 from the local newspaper, of van Gogh's death. 479 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:03,080 And he kept it with him always. 480 00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:05,520 It was always in his wallet. 481 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:10,760 I think that van Gogh was the filter of the sort of powers 482 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:16,680 that he himself felt, and by carrying this around in his pocket, 483 00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:21,240 this magic piece of paper, it kept him somehow 484 00:42:21,240 --> 00:42:24,360 related to van Gogh. 485 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:27,840 I think that was enormously important in his life. 486 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:33,760 Maybe he saw himself in the light of van Gogh. 487 00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:38,080 I mean, the way that van Gogh's works suddenly grab you and seem 488 00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:40,920 more vivid than any other imagery you've ever seen, 489 00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:45,520 and I think Picasso wanted to absorb that into his own work, 490 00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:48,040 and I think that, to a great extent, he did it. 491 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:18,840 By November 1968, 492 00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:21,960 Picasso had embarked upon a new phase of intense painting. 493 00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:31,440 He projected on his studio wall the works of Rembrandt, another hero. 494 00:43:35,440 --> 00:43:40,120 Picasso appreciated his stoical acceptance of old age, but even more, 495 00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:47,200 the vitality and vigour that flowed from Rembrandt's maturity and wisdom. 496 00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:56,640 There are three pictures, 497 00:43:56,640 --> 00:44:02,080 and they are all inspired, actually, by Rembrandt, 498 00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:05,600 because, after his illness in 499 00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:10,360 1965-66, he read a book about Rembrandt, 500 00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:14,520 and that's why these figures come up. 501 00:44:14,520 --> 00:44:20,920 And you see the Dutch pipe, and you see the collar, and so 502 00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:25,320 Rembrandt was very much on his mind at that period. 503 00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:33,560 Here we have, again, a Rembrandt figure, with the Dutch pipe. 504 00:44:38,840 --> 00:44:42,680 He took every freedom to paint, 505 00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:48,400 no rules any more, and he would just, how he felt, 506 00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:52,480 that he needed a colour somewhere 507 00:44:52,480 --> 00:44:56,680 and he just did whatever his brush 508 00:44:56,680 --> 00:45:01,960 would like to do. But it's not the picture of an old man. 509 00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:05,640 He was younger there than he was in his Blue pictures. 510 00:47:40,880 --> 00:47:43,320 Now well into his 88th year, 511 00:47:43,320 --> 00:47:46,800 Picasso was finally ready to display his latest work, 512 00:47:46,800 --> 00:47:52,440 with no frames on bare stone walls, at the Palais des Papes, Avignon. 513 00:47:52,440 --> 00:47:56,960 He personally curated the show in a direct no-nonsense way, 514 00:47:56,960 --> 00:48:00,360 letting the intense confrontational paintings, 515 00:48:00,360 --> 00:48:03,720 the raw reality of love in old age, speak for themselves. 516 00:48:07,520 --> 00:48:11,160 The exhibition opened on the 23rd of May, 1970. 517 00:48:11,160 --> 00:48:13,920 To those expecting classic Picasso, 518 00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:16,040 the new work was now unrecognisable. 519 00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:19,440 To his enemies, his images 520 00:48:19,440 --> 00:48:21,360 were simply obscene. 521 00:48:21,360 --> 00:48:23,320 As one critic said, 522 00:48:23,320 --> 00:48:25,200 "The incoherent scrawls of a 523 00:48:25,200 --> 00:48:26,720 "frenetic old man 524 00:48:26,720 --> 00:48:28,160 "in the antechamber of death." 525 00:48:33,880 --> 00:48:36,240 I know I talked to endless people at the time. 526 00:48:36,240 --> 00:48:38,800 People said, "It's so sad, isn't it? I mean, he's really lost it." 527 00:48:38,800 --> 00:48:40,680 And I said, "Absolutely not. 528 00:48:40,680 --> 00:48:42,280 "I mean, it's the reverse." 529 00:48:45,800 --> 00:48:48,320 Here he is in old age, really embarking 530 00:48:48,320 --> 00:48:50,920 on a whole new period, as it were. 531 00:50:19,720 --> 00:50:25,320 Above all, Picasso still had the urge to create on his own terms. 532 00:50:25,320 --> 00:50:28,840 Images poured out of him, seemingly effortlessly. 533 00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:36,200 As Picasso said to me, 534 00:50:36,200 --> 00:50:39,200 "You can make the most appalling efforts and sweat blood over 535 00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:42,480 "your canvasses, but nobody's making you do it. 536 00:50:42,480 --> 00:50:46,120 "Anyway, you, the painter, you've done this work, 537 00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:48,640 "and that's something, so you're happy. 538 00:50:48,640 --> 00:50:51,160 "I'll tell you why. At the moment you do it, 539 00:50:51,160 --> 00:50:53,080 "it brings some sort of release, 540 00:50:53,080 --> 00:50:55,240 "and that is the essential thing." 541 00:52:32,480 --> 00:52:35,640 On the 21st of October, 1971, 542 00:52:35,640 --> 00:52:39,480 President Georges Pompidou opened an exhibition in the Grand Gallery of 543 00:52:39,480 --> 00:52:43,240 the Louvre in Paris, to celebrate Picasso's 90th birthday. 544 00:52:44,680 --> 00:52:47,600 He was the first living artist to receive this honour. 545 00:52:49,080 --> 00:52:52,680 But Picasso, once more, had no time for looking back. 546 00:52:53,880 --> 00:52:56,360 He continued to work full-time, 547 00:52:56,360 --> 00:52:59,480 perhaps feeling that if he stopped again, 548 00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:01,280 he would stop for ever. 549 00:53:16,480 --> 00:53:20,080 The last paintings of Picasso are immensely strong. 550 00:53:21,720 --> 00:53:27,680 Basically, they are nearly all head and shoulders of sometimes women, 551 00:53:27,680 --> 00:53:31,240 nearly always of men, and the man is nearly always himself. 552 00:53:31,240 --> 00:53:36,960 And they're kind of visions of himself, sometimes horribly funny. 553 00:53:39,560 --> 00:53:44,080 There's a bit of disguise thrown in, but they're all about himself. 554 00:53:44,080 --> 00:53:47,720 The darkness of his nature, he seems to be exploring, 555 00:53:47,720 --> 00:53:49,760 it's very Spanish in that respect. 556 00:53:49,760 --> 00:53:53,440 I mean, it just gets darker and darker and darker. 557 00:53:54,840 --> 00:54:02,160 And it's like a long fight against death, and seeing himself, 558 00:54:02,160 --> 00:54:05,720 and it is wonderful, intensely moving to watch... 559 00:54:06,800 --> 00:54:08,440 ..and far from being... 560 00:54:09,600 --> 00:54:14,360 ..an old man who can't do it any more, they are superbly done. 561 00:54:14,360 --> 00:54:19,120 They are as inventive as ever, as well as being intensely moving. 562 00:55:33,400 --> 00:55:38,920 The famous 1972 portrait, we did see that, 563 00:55:38,920 --> 00:55:46,800 and it was difficult because it was obvious that it was a self-portrait, 564 00:55:46,800 --> 00:55:50,400 but it was something like an adieu, 565 00:55:50,400 --> 00:55:54,680 and we didn't want to see that, actually. 566 00:55:57,680 --> 00:56:04,240 My father and me were in Cannes, in April, 1973... 567 00:56:05,400 --> 00:56:12,240 ..and we saw Picasso coming back from a trip in the car... 568 00:56:13,920 --> 00:56:19,960 ..and we saw him like a head, which already is dead, and then... 569 00:56:21,480 --> 00:56:26,160 ..in the night of the 7th-8th April, 570 00:56:26,160 --> 00:56:32,880 there was a huge storm over the Cote d'Azur, a thunderstorm, 571 00:56:32,880 --> 00:56:36,560 horrible weather, and by chance, 572 00:56:36,560 --> 00:56:42,120 I opened the radio in the hotel room at four o'clock, 573 00:56:42,120 --> 00:56:47,520 and it was announced that that night, Picasso had died. 574 00:56:47,520 --> 00:56:49,120 I'll never forget that. 575 00:56:51,680 --> 00:56:56,840 And it was really, you know, that weather, and Picasso's death, 576 00:56:56,840 --> 00:56:59,840 it was like a revolution in the sky also. 577 00:57:09,280 --> 00:57:12,000 Picasso died today at his country home 578 00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:14,320 at Mougins on the French Riviera, 579 00:57:14,320 --> 00:57:16,080 overlooking the rust-coloured hills 580 00:57:16,080 --> 00:57:20,520 and the blue Mediterranean which had become his spiritual home. 581 00:57:20,520 --> 00:57:22,000 He was 91. 582 00:57:26,440 --> 00:57:28,920 His death came as a surprise to his wife, 583 00:57:28,920 --> 00:57:32,920 Jacqueline, and to the few friends who had visited him recently. 584 00:57:32,920 --> 00:57:37,080 Still hard at work in his immense cluttered studio, 585 00:57:37,080 --> 00:57:41,320 Picasso had seemed as indestructible as the thousands of artworks he had 586 00:57:41,320 --> 00:57:43,720 created over eight decades. 587 00:57:43,720 --> 00:57:45,680 The wealthiest of artists, 588 00:57:45,680 --> 00:57:50,600 Picasso's total fortune had been estimated at $50 million in 589 00:57:50,600 --> 00:57:53,240 paintings, real estate and investments. 590 00:57:54,400 --> 00:57:58,040 He will undoubtedly be recorded by history as the greatest painter of 591 00:57:58,040 --> 00:57:59,560 the 20th century, 592 00:57:59,560 --> 00:58:04,480 and perhaps the greatest multifaceted artist of all times. 593 00:58:05,640 --> 00:58:09,320 He had not made a public appearance in three years. 594 00:58:09,320 --> 00:58:13,760 Picasso left his villa only occasionally, to visit a dentist or 595 00:58:13,760 --> 00:58:17,680 to shop in Nice. Now he is making the final journey. 596 00:58:21,200 --> 00:58:24,360 Even in death, the artist kept the world at bay. 597 00:58:25,760 --> 00:58:30,160 Behind locked gates, on the 16th of April, 1973, 598 00:58:30,160 --> 00:58:34,880 Pablo Picasso was buried in the grounds of his chateau at Vauvenargues, 599 00:58:34,880 --> 00:58:39,480 with only Jacqueline, his son, and a few close friends in attendance.