...world of African masks, the Dan Tribe specifically, would revolutionize the art world at the time and has had an impact on artists and viewers to this day. The artist is Pablo Picasso. In June of 1907, Picasso visited the West African masks exhibition at the Trocadero Museum in Paris, France. As he viewed the African mask exhibition, he exclaimed: “The masks, they were not sculptures like the others. Not at all. They were magical things, intercessors… against everything, against unknown, menacing spirits”. (Walker) The influence of African masks can be noticed in a large number of Picasso’s art following this visit to the museum. Picasso’s oil painting, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon also known as The Maids of Avignon, was painted one year after his museum visit in 1907. This was the first piece of art by Picasso and validated by art critics where incorporation of the essence of an African mask was noticed. From 1907 through 1909, Picasso’s art exhibited a strong African influence. His art became more abstract and he is hailed as having begun Cubism and abstract art era by the art world. If one was to view his three self-portraits the progression of this African influence can be readily noticed. The last self-portrait was painted before his death in 1972 and resembles a Dan Tribe African Death Mask. Although heavily influenced by African art as seen in a large portion of his art work that followed the museum visit, Picasso never acknowledged the African influence. This...
Words: 1214 - Pages: 5
...was influential in the early development of cubism and modern art, however this work of art led to a widespread resentment and discord amongst the people closest to him (Gibson, 1995). My research intends to walk readers through Picasso’s life emphasizing how his work reshaped 20th Century Art, as well as, the influences coming from Primitive art during this period. Picasso the man, a young inspiring artist arrived in Paris from Spain at the turn of the 20th century leaving family, friends and business contacts behind. By 1904 Picasso, determined to make a name for himself now fully settled in Paris, had gotten several studios off the ground, while building important relationships with friends and other artists (Daix,1988) Picasso’s groundbreaking recognition came between 1901 and 1904 for what’s known today as his blue period paintings. The blue period was a time of poverty and desperation based on what Picasso witnessed during the beginning of the 20th century in Spain and Paris his paintings reflected a time of blueness and despair (Daix, 1988). Picasso himself admitted that he began to create paintings during the blue period as a result of the death of Spanish painter, Carlos Casagemas. Casagemas, not only a colleague but a good friend of Picasso’s, who committed suicide over an one-sided love for a women named Germaine Pichot. As irony would have it, Germaine was also...
Words: 2139 - Pages: 9
...the Cubist movement and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937), a portrayal of the German bombing of Guernica during theSpanish Civil War. The enormous body of Picasso’s work remains, and the legend lives on—a tribute to the vitality of the “disquieting” Spaniard with the “sombre…piercing” eyes who superstitiously believed that work would keep him alive. For nearly 80 of his 91 years Picasso devoted himself to an artistic production that contributed significantly to and paralleled the whole development of modern art in the 20th century. Picasso’s art from the time of the Demoiselles was radical in nature, virtually no 20th-century artist could escape his influence. Moreover, while other masters such as Matisse or Braque tended to stay within the bounds of a style they had developed in their youth, Picasso continued to be an innovator into the last decade of his life. This led to misunderstanding and criticism both in his lifetime and since, and it was only in the 1980s that his last paintings began to be appreciated both in themselves and for their profound influence on the rising generation of young painters. Since Picasso was able from the 1920s to sell works at very high prices, he could keep most of his oeuvre in his own collection. At the time of his death he owned some 50,000 works in various media from every period of his career, which passed...
Words: 4347 - Pages: 18
...Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is a celebrated painting by Pablo Picasso that depicts five prostitutes in a brothel, in the Avignon Street of Barcelona. The controversial eye-catching painting now hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Les Demoiselles d Avignon work represents a major milestone in the history of modern art. Picasso's controversial and powerful painting broke all traditional concepts and perspective of ideal beauty. It distinguished him from other artists and ushered in the new artistic movement of cubism. In the months leading up to the painting's creation, Picasso struggles with the subject -- five women in a brothel. In 19th century art, prostitutes played a significant role as they were regarded as subversive and disruptive to the social and sexual status quo . Picasso's awareness of this theme must be remembered when examining this work since it aided the painting in becoming the most important artwork of the century. The painting began as a narrative brothel scene on Avignon Street in the city of Barcelona where Picasso was a young up and coming artist. Here he created more than 100 sketches and preliminary paintings before his final design. Initially the painting had five naked prostitutes and two men, a patron surrounded by the women, and a medical student holding a skull, perhaps symbolizing that "the wages of sin are death. " The sailor seemed to be walking into this curtained room where the ladies stand and the woman on the far left now...
Words: 1921 - Pages: 8
...referenced cubism, with the assistance of Georges Braque, collages and was influential with his contributions to symbolism and surrealism as well. Picasso viewed himself as a painter first, and then all other areas of interest just seemed to follow in suit, which were sculpture, ceramics, and print-making. The Spanish painter, sculptor, and graphic artist; Pablo Picasso was one of the most productive and revolutionary artists in the history of Western painting (Boigraphies, 2015). Picasso was born on October 25, 1881, in Malaga, Spain to a creative an artistic family where he quickly grew in his fascination of painting. At a very young age he showed interest in his father’s painting and began his study of art by age eleven. One of Picasso’s first paintings that still exists today is named “The Communion.” and is dated to 1895. His early life was initiated by the best schools his family could provide for him in his chosen career, and he studied the famous Spanish Art Masters works for style and pose to integrate into his own works of art. When his family moved to Barcelona, his art seemed to blossom. He was intrigued by the ‘Art Nouveau of the Bohemian anarchists, modernists and also the artists Edvard Munch as well as Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, and Jaime Sabartes. Who became his secretary and confidant, and so began the era where art was an expression. During the early 1900’s Picasso traveled Europe and started sculpting, his decided city of choice was Paris, France where he...
Words: 1595 - Pages: 7
...I will compare Guernica by Pablo Picasso and Charles the First by Jean-Michael Basquit. First, in terms of perspective, I feel both paintings are subjective in that the artist’s intent was to invoke the emotion of its audience. However, I feel both have very contrasting negative and positive themes. For instance, Picasso’s painting immerses its viewers in the dark, brutal atrocities of war caused by human nature. In contrast, Basquit’s painting Charles the First uses its theme of martyrdom and heroism to positively inspire its audience. Second, each artist’s technique was similar in that the use of an expressionistic abstract style enabled for personal interpretation rather than a picture perfect depiction of reality. Additionally, I feel each...
Words: 292 - Pages: 2
...a towering idol and inspiration to many of us as we recount his history. However, as the lecture goes on, I found out an interesting fact about the painter that took me by surprise. Whenever I though about Picasso and cubism, I had always assumed the style had been his own invention; an original, new way of painting that had come to him from some divine form of inspiration. It was revealed, in that dark room surrounded by other artists and victims of inspiration, that Picasso’s square, blocky, misshapen figures were created from the likeness of African art, or more specifically, African masks (“Picasso”). Admittedly, it is certainly not the most shocking thing I’v ever heard, and I wasn’t in any state of disbelief, but a familiar, uneasy feeling did come over me. I have a strong affinity toward many different forms of rock music, installed into me by my parents and the Beatles at an early age. And soon after I began to learn about the history of the music I loved, I learned how it all came from the African American community, and soon after that, I learned why almost all of the rock musicians I had ever heard of were all white, despite knowing where and from whom it had actually originated from. It’s a strange thing for an 8 year old to hear from her father that Buddy Holly, the Beatles, and Elvis Presley had taken a form...
Words: 1540 - Pages: 7
...of his Barcelona friend Manuel Pallars. When Picasso returned to Barcelona in early 1899, he was a changed man; he had put on weight, he had learned to live on his own in the open countryside, he spoke Catalan, and most importantantly he had made the decision to break with his art school training and to reject his family’s plans for his future. In his work he was a painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist and stage designer, Picasso was considered radical in his work, after a long career he died April 8, 1973 in Mougins. Most of his work remains, for 80 of his 91 years Picasso devoted himself to an artistic production that contributed to and paralleled the whole development of modern art in the 20th century. New Artistic Styles Picasso’s paintings and drawings often seem unexpectedly naturalistic in contrast to the Cubist works that preceded or sometimes coincided with them. After his travels to Italy and back to Barcelona in 1917 a new spirit of mediterraneanism made itself felt in his work, in classical...
Words: 2800 - Pages: 12
...way for this break from tradition with its unique take on perspective while Surrealism deviated even further through exploration of the subconscious mind. Cubism developed in a time of technological advances. Photography had become common and was threatening painting as a way of documenting the natural world. Art needed to evolve its purpose. (Bewley, 2013) Cubists changed the way they approached painting by rejecting the tradition of painting the world as our eyes see it and, instead, they painted subjects broken up and reassembled in abstract form from different perspectives and viewpoints. Influenced by African mask carvings, Picasso created Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, the first painting which exhibited cubism elements. (FozzyFozz, 2012) Although not considered a Cubist painting, Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is regarded by many as a pre-Cubist painting. Picasso’s use of simple geometric shapes and multiple planes are both characteristics that would later be used to define Cubism. Cubism features abstraction – artists disassemble, analyze and reassemble subjects to show the subject differently. Early Cubist painters made use of monochromatic colors, whereas later in the movement, artists explored the use of vivid colors in their artwork....
Words: 1074 - Pages: 5
...Feminist scholar Linda Nochlin explains that "art is not a free autonomous activity of a super-endowed individual…but rather… occurs in a social situation, is an integral element of social structure, and is mediated and determined by specific and definable social institutions".[1] While art functions as a gateway for personal creativity and expression, it inevitably carries the influence of a far greater context outside the artist himself. Across cultures, time periods, and movements, art has presented various patterns in style and subject matter inextricably linked to values of the larger society. Viewers do not simply witness these products of history, but engage in personal experiences and responses provoked by them. Thus, art has served as a powerful engine both reflecting and fueling political, social, and religious ideologies.[2] In particular, the subject of women has accumulated controversial discussion in the visual arts because of consistencies witnessed across all these constructs. In exploring female representations in art, feminist scholars have particularly noted the perpetual limitations set upon women not only as subjects but as spectators. While artistic movements progressed over the centuries, it appears the connotations of women have remained stagnant. Even in the early 20th century which saw a turn in traditional gender roles, painting continued to be dominated by the male experience demonstrated in the guises of the nude, despite aesthetic and conceptual differences...
Words: 2243 - Pages: 9
...Pablo Picasso’s Jacqueline Ever heard of Pablo’s Picasso “Jacqueline” master piece? No? Well now you have. Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born on October 25, 1881, in Malaga, Spain, Son of Jose Ruiz Blasco, an art teacher (1838-1913) and Maria Picasso Lopez (1855- 1939). Picasso grew up creating and drawing pieces of artwork, taking classes under his father at an early age. As Picasso grew so did his desire for painting, dropping his father’s surname and becoming Pablo Picasso, he began his work. Later on Picasso became a name among other artists, for his great masterpieces, the old guitarist, Guernica and Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. Picasso was friends with quite a few other artists, Georges Braque being one of the following. Many of their paintings were believed to always have a similar look and interpretation, they were believed to be influence by each other, this affecting how many people were effected by their movements....
Words: 621 - Pages: 3
...School of Fine Arts which typically only takes older people, much older, then Picasso was (Ghare, 2011). However, his entrance exam was so extraordinary that the school felt it was important to make an exception (Ghare, 2011). Picasso moved to Paris where his adult career began to flourish. The paintings by Picasso are typically categorized into periods based on the mood and style of Picasso. The first is called the, The Blue Period, which happened from 1901-1904. It was called this because his paintings were mostly in blues and greens. The subjects of these paintings were prostitutes and beggars. The second period called The Rose Period was from 1905-1907 because he mostly used orange and pink. From 1907-1909, the African Period, he was inspired by African art and artifacts. Lastly, we have Cubism which occurred from 1909-1912 and used mostly monochrome brown colors (Ghare, 2011). With cubism, Picasso was able to re-create his subjects often breaking them apart and reconstructing within the painting (Ghare, 2011). Pablo was a sensational artist and changed the world of art with his paintings. He was married in 1961 and lived a long enjoyable life with his wife and two children. Pablo died at the age of 91 from a heart attack while entertaining friends; something he loved to do almost as much as draw (Ghare, 2011). Pablo Picasso had many work of arts, I chose to deconstruct the painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (translated The Young Ladies of Avignon or as its original...
Words: 902 - Pages: 4
...giving his piece direction. His piece makes you center in on the middle and the figures dancing in a circle. Each figure is painted peacefully in their own unique ways, some relaxing, others dancing, and a couple embracing each other. Matisse depicted a celebration of life, sexuality, and womanhood. Matisse’s Joy of Life and Picasso’s Les Demoiselles are two complete different styles. Matisse’s landscape is a broad open field. His figures are un-crowded and relate to the forms of nature that surrounds them. Picasso, on the other hand, compressed the space and took Matisse’s sensual relaxed atmosphere and turned it into an assertively pornographic ambiance. Picasso chose deep tones and shattered forms, where Matisse used clear, bright pigments and graceful curves. Artist: Pablo Picasso Title: Les Demoiselles Medium: Oil on Canvas Date: 1907 Style: Cubism The Les Demoiselles is a very disturbing painting. Picasso strayed from current and classical French influences and created cubism, which became groundbreaking in the art culture. This painting is of five prostitutes in a brothel in Barcelona. The faces are distorted; the eyes are derived from African tribal masks and the art of Oceania, as said by the critics. Form and representation is...
Words: 2250 - Pages: 9
...Cubism Cubism was one of the most influential visual art styles of the early twentieth century. It was created by Pablo Picasso between 1907 and 1914with some credit given to Brague. Vauxcelles called the geometric forms in the highly abstracted works "cubes.". The stylization and distortion of Picasso's ground-breaking Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (Museum of Modern Art, New York), painted in 1907, came from African art which Picasso had first seen when he visited the ethnographic museum in the Palais du Trocadéro in Paris in 1907. Cubist painters wanted to emphasize the two-dimensionality of the canvas instead of adhering to the ideas that art should copy nature or adopt the traditional techniques of perspective, modeling, and foreshortening. So they reduced and fractured objects into geometric forms, and then realigned these within a shallow, relief-like space. They also used multiple or opposing vantage points. Cubism wielded a profound influence on twentieth-century sculpture and architecture even though it was associated with painting. The major Cubist sculptors were Alexander Archipenko, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, and Jacques Lipchitz. Rewald, Sabine. "Cubism". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm (October 2004) Fauve Fauvism was the first of the avant-garde movements that flourished in France in the early years of the twentieth century. The Fauve painters were...
Words: 556 - Pages: 3
...l.com The Art of Social Protest: “The Raft of the Medusa” and “Guernica” Some people are advocates of the opinion that art designed to influence social behavior is reprehensible, dirty, nothing more than propaganda, and so on. However, it is impossible to present a complete picture of art if we ignore its function of a social protest; the history of art provides us with many examples. Painting can be an extremely powerful form of protest against inequity, atrocity or inequality. Traditionally, painting is usually supportive of the political needs of old-established order because it is backed up and bought by wealthy people, and thus painting is less willing to engage in social controversies. However, certain artists stand out as exceptions. Among them are two great figures in the history of world painting Théodore Géricault (1791–1824), one of the French pioneers of the Romantic movement, exposing a great contemporary scandal in “The Raft of the Medusa”, and an Andalusian-Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), expressing his fury at the bombing of a peaceful town during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) in his painting “Guernica”. Although these two painters differ by origin, style, artistic expression, their works mentioned above have very much in common. Géricault’s “The Raft of the Medusa” and Picasso’s “Guernica” are perhaps the most significant paintings of social protest in our time. Both paintings are based on real tragic events. However, their creators apparently...
Words: 2068 - Pages: 9
