Gongora by Pablo Picasso Gongora is composed of twenty sonnets by the sixteenth-century poet Luis de Gongora y Argote, which Pablo Picasso wrote out in hand and embellished with flourishes, sketches, and figures. The artist also rendered twenty portraits to accompany these poems, and the result is a charming union of word and image, full of imaginative variety and artistic virtuosity. Picasso was first attracted to the work of Gongora during the 1920's, when the poet, who was known for his mannered style and illogical use of metaphors, was resurrected by the Surrealists. But in addition to this, he was inspired to work on Gongora thanks to his native Spanish traditions. The handwritten Spanish text established Picasso's personal attachment to the poetry, while the rich presentation of images -- described as a "veritable feminine kaleidoscope" -- invites natural comparisons with the great Spanish portraitists Valesquez and El Greco, who were Gongora's contemporaries. Available to the public for the first time since it was first published in 1948, Picasso's etchings masterfully make visual the romantic mood of the sonnets. CL, ISBN: 0807611336 $50.00 (Can. $75.00)