Clement Oubrerie’s beautiful illustrations for Julie Birmant’s graphic biography don’t resemble anything ever painted by Pablo Picasso—except when depicting the artist’s work. Covered in the latest edition of the “Art Masters Series”—whose previous number, Barbara Stok’s Vincent (as in Van Gogh), was rendered in more cartoony style—are young Picasso’s early Paris years. Modernism was pushing beyond Impressionism and the bourgeoisie was easily shocked. Oubrerie’s colored line drawings are full of expressive faces and depict circa 1900 Paris in vividly detailed panels of crowded boulevards, bustling amusement parks, crowded salons and intimate encounters.
