The book “Picasso” is a biography of an outstanding artist of the 20th century. It presents all stages of the artist’s life, the origins of various trends in his work, and analyzes the motives that prompted the artist to change styles throughout his creative life. A large place is occupied by the description of the artist’s personal life. For the Russian reader, the biography is interesting because it helps to free oneself from a one-sided view of P. Picasso, to see him in all the variety of canvases he created, to better understand his work and the role of art in general. The author of the biography, R. Penrose, a writer and artist, met with Picasso at the International Exhibition of Surrealism in London, their friendship began here, which lasted almost 40 years, until Picasso’s death. Penrose wrote 10 monographs on Picasso.