Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon 1907 - Cubism

Pablo Picasso - 1881-1973
Picasso was a 25 year old Spanish immigrant to France when he painted this picture. It refers to the prostitutes he visited in Avignon. He did hundreds of preparatory drawings and paintings over a six month period prior to painting the final work on a 8ftx7ft canvas.
The figures are very unconventional in that their shoulders, hips and limbs are depicted in angular lines and flat geometric shapes. e.g their breasts are either cubic shapes or half circles. Their faces are sharp edged and simplified. Their eyes are very big and high up on the head. The women's thighs are wider than their waists, one's foot is disproportionally big, one woman appears to have a black face on a white body and two of the women have African masks on.
The setting is fairly indistinct with what appears to be red and white drapes done in an angular and fragmented way. The tone implies fabric rather than the shapes. It is a cramped space where the women are still posing so it is not an area for them to relax even though there are grapes on the table. There are few identifiable features in the setting which makes it easier to put the picture in context so the observer just looks at the women and gets the information from them.
Picasso broke with tradition  with this controversial piece of art as he did away with pre-existing artisitic themes like naturalisation and perspective. It refers heavily to his fascination to "Primitive art" which is a term used to refer to African masks and statuary - he had a big collection of tribal masks.
This painting does not present women in a glamorous way, in fact the women portrayed are not attractive, the masks are quite horrible on naked bodies, their skin is not perfect and beautiful as earlier paintings often were. The brothel is presented as unpleasant and sordid - the women look blank rather than serene. This paintings was likely to offend as it was brazen and ugly and reflected the reality of brothels. And this painting did offend when it was first exhibited in 1916 where most viewers were appalled.
Whereas I quite like the style in which the women's bodies are portrayed, the masks and the blank expressions on their faces and the colour choices make it a painting I dont take to.



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