How are you?
On every Thursday,
I am introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the
title “Interesting
Art Stories”.
The 36th story for
this week is “Les
Demoiselles d'Avignon” by Pablo Picasso.
 |
| Pablo Picasso |
“Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” is a large oil painting created in 1907 by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. One of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, this painting depicts five nude female prostitutes in a brothel on Carrer d'Avinyó in Barcelona.
 |
| Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) |
The conventional feminine figure of Western art is not
in this painting, and the women who appear to be slightly threatening are
rendered with angular and disjointed body shapes. The woman on the far left has
an Egyptian-style appearance, the two adjacent women are represented in the
Iberian style of Spain, Picasso's hometown, and the two women on the far right
have an African mask-like features. Picasso's application of ethnic primitivism
and abandonment of perspective in this painting shows a radical departure from
traditional European painting style. This proto-cubist work is regarded as an
important piece in the early development of both cubism and modern art.
Picasso repainted the heads
of the two women on the far right of the painting, leading to speculation that
it was an indication of the separation between Picasso and his longtime lover,
Fernande Olivier. In 1907, Picasso and Olivier parted and later reunited, but
the relationship between the two eventually ended in 1912.
 |
| Head of a woman (Fernande Olivier), Pablo Picasso (1909) |
This painting had a great
influence on modern art, but the influence did not appear immediately, so it
was left in Picasso's studio for many years. Initially, only artists, dealers,
collectors and friends who were close to Picasso were aware of the existence of
this painting.
When it was first exhibited in 1916, it was deemed immoral. Painted in Picasso's studio in the Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre, Paris, this painting was first seen publicly at the exhibition “Salon d'Antin” organized by the poet André Salmon in July 1916.
 |
| Le Bateau-Lavoir (c.1910) |
In this exhibition, Salmon changed the title of the painting to its current
title, "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," instead of the original title by
Picasso, "Le Bordel d'Avignon". Picasso, who always referred to this
painting as “mon bordel” or “Le Bordel d'Avignon”, never liked Salmon's title
and rather preferred the bowdlerization “Las chicas de Avignon.”
 |
| Portrait of Andre Salmon, Josette Bournet (c.1947) |
This painting was not widely
recognized as a revolutionary achievement until the early 1920s, when André
Breton published this work.
 |
| André Breton |
The painting was so revolutionary
at the time and led to widespread controversy, shock, anger and disagreement,
even amongst Picasso's closest associates and friends.
Henri Matisse fought mad
when he saw this painting in Picasso's studio. However, in his 1908 “Bathers
with a Turtle,” he indirectly reacted to it.
 |
| Bathers with a Turtle, Henri Matisse (1907-1908) |
Georges Braque and André Derain both supported Picasso, but initially disliked this painting. However, Georges Braque later studied this painting in great detail than anyone else, and his continued friendship and collaboration with Picasso led to the cubist revolution.
 |
| Georges Braque |
 |
| Charing Cross Bridge, London, André Derain (1906) |
Picasso's two friends, the art critic André Salmon and the painter Ardengo Soffici, were enthusiastic about it, while the poet Guillaume Apollinaire wasn’t.
 |
| Deconstruction of the Planes of a Lamp, Ardengo Soffici (1912-13) |
In addition, the art dealer and collector Wilhelm Uhde and
the art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler were more enthusiastic about the
painting, which Kahnweiler described as the beginning of Cubism.
 |
| Portrait of Wilhelm Uhde, Pablo Picasso (1910) |
 |
| Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Pablo Picasso (1910) |
Its resemblance to Paul
Cézanne's “The Bathers”, Paul Gauguin's statue “Oviri” and El Greco's “Opening
of the Fifth Seal” has been widely discussed by later critics.
 |
| Oviri, Paul Gauguin (1894) |
 |
| Opening of the Fifth Seal, El Greco (1608–1614) |
 |
| The Bathers, Paul Cézanne (1898-1905) |
In July 2007, Newsweek
magazine published a two-page article about this painting, describing it as the
"most influential work of art of the last 100 years."
Thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment