Rudolf Arnheim explores the creative process through the sketches executed by Picasso for his mural Guernica. The drawings and paintings shown herein, as well as the photographs of the stages of the final painting, represent the complete visual record of the creative stages of a major work of art.

Rudolf Arnheim is Professor Emeritus of the Psychology of Art at Harvard University. His books include Visual Thinking (UC Press) and Art and Visual Perception (UC Press).

"A beautiful book, and a unique record of the steps in the creation of Picasso's impassioned mural."—San Francisco Chronicle

"Fascinating. To follow the protean composition step by step tells more about the process of painting, with its daily interplay of form and psychological demands, than any course in aesthetics.... It is reassuring to observe that the picture remains in the end triumphantly mysterious."—The Observer

"The main trend and tendency of the creative process is interpreted by Arnheim with a unique combination of intuition and logical reasoning."—Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

"Arnheim's language is clear and simple, the data are organized logically, and there is no superfluous camouflage by words. In addition to these rare qualities in a writer, there is the author's broad knowledge and his grasp of many disciplines, which make the reading of this book stimulating and important."—Art Journal