Pablo Picasso was arguably the greatest painter of the twentieth century. He was also known to have said that there are two kinds of women: goddesses and doormats and he treated his many female muses as both. We talk about how that is reflected in his art which is on display at a special exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario. And we talk to a woman who was one of many paramours.

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Part Three of The Current

Picasso's Women - Art Gallery of Ontario Curator

Pablo Picasso said he painted the way other people wrote their autobiographies. "The paintings, finished or not, are the pages from my diary," he said. Anyone wishing to read that diary may want to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario over the next few months. A major exhibition called Picasso: Masterpieces From the Musee National Picasso, Paris consists of 144 works taken from the painter's personal collection.

At a glance it's clear how important women were to his life and art. Whether they're reclining sensuously, contorted and grotesque or offering light in the face of evil, the women of Picasso's works say as much about the man as they do about his art.

The Current's Kathleen Goldhar visited the Art Gallery of Ontario with interpretive planner Shiralee Hudson Hill and was introduced to one of Picasso's most important muses. We aired a clip.

And of course there were many more muses, and lovers and wives and mistresses. Elizabeth Smith is the Art Gallery of Ontario's Executive Director of Curatorial Affairs and she was in our Toronto studio.

Picasso's Women - Art Critic & Picasso Muse

There was the passionate Picasso, whose life was filled with love affairs and the women who loved him. But there was also the Picasso who was notorious for abusing the women in his life.

Mark Hudson is an art critic and author of the book Titian, the Last Days. He was in our London, England.

Sylvette David met Picasso when she was 19 and living in the South of France. She is now immortalized as The Girl with the Ponytail. She now goes by the name Lydia Corbett, and she was at home in Devon, England

This segment was produced by The Current's Kathleen Goldhar and Lara O'Brien.

Last Word - Surviving Picasso

We've been talking about Picasso and his women this morning. The film Surviving Picasso suggested the Master painter was also a master manipulator. It also suggested his mistress Françoise Gilot managed to keep her self-respect, and became a better artist for her years of endurance.

On today's Last Word, we aired a clip of Anthony Hopkins, portraying the painter as a complex man -- with a whole range of complexes.

Other segments from today's show:

Who Decides End of Life? - The Rasouli Case

Chinese Politics and Bo Xilai Intrigue