Pablo Picasso holds a Siamese cat and in another photo seems unfazed by having his son's finger in his mouth as he watches a bullfight - two images from the Spanish artist's private collection.
They are among 50 photos and 56 artworks on display in Hong Kong in a comprehensive exhibition that not only follows the progression of his work but introduces Picasso the man, his obsessions, and how the events and people in his life shaped his work.
Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris opened this week at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Sha Tin.
'He was in revolution every day. He could've stayed a cubist, a surrealist, but he chose to push himself in other ways,' said Anne Baldassari, president of the Musee National Picasso.
The works were chosen from some 5,000 pieces at the Paris museum to introduce to Asian audiences to the depth and breadth of Picasso's talent.
'We could have just shown a masterpiece from his blue period, one from cubism and one from surrealism, but I think it's more interesting to see the process,' said Baldassari. 'Here you can see self-portraits, the people who worked with him, people he was in love with, his children.'