For the first time, the explicit connection between Japanese erotic prints and the work of Pablo Picasso is revealed in this highly original study. Much of Picasso’s work is imbued with eroticism and this book makes clear the parallels between explicit Japanese compositions and scenes depicted by the artist.

More than twenty previously unpublished Japanese prints from Picasso’s personal collection are illustrated, revealing the influence these ‘secret images’ had on his career.

Thought-provoking and careful analysis of the prints is accompanied by reproductions of artworks by Western and Japanese artists. Essays by scholars of Picasso and Japanese art and by curators at Barcelona’s Museu Picasso, examine the spread of Japanese art and its influence in Europe, and look at the impact this had on Picasso’s œuvre.

Irreverent drawings chronicling Picasso’s passionate youth and sexual fantasies develop into mature images of a man of many lovers – ardent participant and voyeur.