Carrie Shepherd
MacHome Journal
May 1997
"This CD is one of the best I've seen"

SCORE: 1/2

Like Pablo Picasso himself, Picasso the CD-ROM is nearly miraculous in its artistry. It provides the perfect blend of text, art and narration in an interface that is a work of art in itself, magnificently capturing the flavor of Picasso's works.

Following Picasso's progress from the early blush of genius of his first oil painting at age eight "from traditional realism through the Blue and Rose periods, cubism and neo-classicism" is deeply engrossing. Influences on Picasso are explored to aid in understanding his work. Not only were his pieces affected by masters such as Cézanne and Matisse, but also by the Spanish Civil War, the World Wars and the many women he loved.

Naturally, the meat of this CD is the artwork. Besides the 600 pieces culled from Picasso's legacy, it presents about 100 works from other artists to show influences and furnish comparisons. Audio commentary is provided on every key work, along with a text analysis, often with supplementary excerpts from expert texts. Terms, people and places mentioned are hyperlinked to a glossary; one click seamlessly brings you back to where you left off in your reading. Analytic tools include a timeline, a scale, a magnify option that gives you a high-resolution look at sections of a work; a narrated close-up examining the work s details; an explanation of the piece s composition; and comparisons of Picasso's works to each other, to other artists pieces, or to works within a theme.

You can also explore the art by theme, such as Self-Portraits, Ceramics, Performing Arts and Portraiture; or access them via the Index, which lets you view all of Picasso's artwork on the CD chronologically or alphabetically. A roll of the cursor over each image brings up its title, date, media, size and owner. Running through all this material took me a while: seventeen hours.

What makes this CD really stand out is its attention to detail. The disc uses fonts and icons in keeping with Picasso's style; the accompanying music and animated introductions always suit the mood of their corresponding eras. If you decide to leave a section before the narration or musical selection is over, the sound doesn t cut off abruptly, but instead fades out smoothly.

Many CDs, while jam-packed with valuable information, make me yearn for a book or video instead. Picasso is so lively, flexible and entertaining that I never got that feeling. How better to be able to look up where Guernica is located, actually watch the artist in action and hear him speak (courtesy of extracted film from The Mystery of Picasso), and learn about his succession of younger and younger lovers?

One comes away from this CD with a greater understanding of and appreciation for this influential, legendary man. In terms of a satisfying and entertaining multimedia experience, this CD is one of the best I've seen.

© 1997 Grolier Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.