When Picasso died at the age of 91 in April 1973, he had "become one of the most famous and successful artists of his time. His career had spanned most of the twentieth century and he had taken part in some of the most important art
movements of that century. A creator of a vast number of paintings, sculptures, drawing, etchings, constructions, and ceramics, his natural talent and versatility seemed boundless as he passed effortlessly from one medium to another and from one style to the next. His ability to promote himself and his work was without precedent, contributing to a general shift during the twentieth century in the public perception of the artist, from the instinctive creative genius to the careful controller of artistic personae and guises. The art historian Sam Hunter once wrote that "Picasso, the man and the artist, has cast a spell on his age." Picasso was, and still is, often seen as a magician by writers and critics, a metaphor that captures both the sense of an artist who is able to transform everything around him at a touch and a man who can also transform himself, elude us, fascinate and mesmerize us, and then disappear. Picasso"s enduring fascination rests on this Protean element in his character, as his life and work continue to invite countless scholarly interpretations, and exhibitions of his work continue to attract thousands of visitors.