Pablo Picasso was inspired by the Frenchwoman Fernande Olivier, whom he met at the beginning of his Rose Period in 1904. For eight years, she became his faithful companion, muse, and model, witnessing Picasso's early creative explorations and the birth of Cubism. When Picasso finally achieved success as an artist, he began to lose interest in Fernande, who remained a memory of difficult times for him. Nearly twenty years after her relationship with Picasso, Fernande Olivier published a memoir about their life together. From 1896 to 1907, she kept a diary that formed the basis of these recollections of a turbulent youth, a vibrant romance, Picasso, and his friends.