Pablo Picasso's Demoiselles d'Avignon: An Evaluation
Final Paper William Kidwell ART101: Art Appreciation Instructor: Patricia Venecia-Tobin October 8, 2012
Evaluate Pablo Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon. How did this work reshape the art of the early 20th century? Pablo Picasso’s painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is a wonderful piece of art, and the style in which the picture is painted is very typical of Picasso. The artist completed the picture in the beginning of the previous century, in 1907, and used oil on canvas. Generally, Pablo Picasso is famous for unnaturally distorted figures in his paintings of that year, and Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is a great example. The picture is now hanging in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Pablo Picasso hated discussing his art, yet once he spoke frankly about "Les Demoiselles d 'Avignon," his greatest painting and a touchstone of 20th-century art that is 100 years old this summer. On this occasion, Picasso did not address the subjects that transfix art historians -- the origin of Cubism, the supplanting of old avant- gardes, and the impact of non-Western art. He cut through academic dissertations to offer one of his most heartfelt admissions about why he made art. He spoke of artworks as "weapons . . . against everything . . . against unknown, threatening spirits," and he affirmed that " 'Les Demoiselles d 'Avignon ' . . . was my first exorcism painting -- yes absolutely!"
His encounters also return us to the idea of art as "exorcism." When Picasso spoke about art being a weapon, he was specifically describing African "fetishes." He called them defensive weapons: "They 're tools. If we give spirits a form, we become independent." In this sense, the splintered spaces and awesome creatures of "Les Demoiselles" vividly embody looming malevolent and seductive forces -- and stop them in their tracks. Picasso 's painting pushes us to the edge of primal confrontation. It projects human savagery only to trap it in the painted crust.
Evaluate Pablo Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon. How did this work reshape the art of the early 20th century? Pablo Picasso’s painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is a wonderful piece of art, and the style in which the picture is painted is very typical of Picasso. The artist completed the picture in the beginning of the previous century, in 1907, and used oil on canvas. Generally, Pablo Picasso is famous for unnaturally distorted figures in his paintings of that year, and Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is a great example. The picture is now hanging in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Pablo Picasso hated discussing his art, yet once he spoke frankly about "Les Demoiselles d 'Avignon," his greatest painting and a touchstone of 20th-century art that is 100 years old this summer. On this occasion, Picasso did not address the subjects that transfix art historians -- the origin of Cubism, the supplanting of old avant- gardes, and the impact of non-Western art. He cut through academic dissertations to offer one of his most heartfelt admissions about why he made art. He spoke of artworks as "weapons . . . against everything . . . against unknown, threatening spirits," and he affirmed that " 'Les Demoiselles d 'Avignon ' . . . was my first exorcism painting -- yes absolutely!"
His encounters also return us to the idea of art as "exorcism." When Picasso spoke about art being a weapon, he was specifically describing African "fetishes." He called them defensive weapons: "They 're tools. If we give spirits a form, we become independent." In this sense, the splintered spaces and awesome creatures of "Les Demoiselles" vividly embody looming malevolent and seductive forces -- and stop them in their tracks. Picasso 's painting pushes us to the edge of primal confrontation. It projects human savagery only to trap it in the painted crust.
References: www.faculty.mdc.edu www.pablopicasso.org http://search.proquest.com/docview/398999057?accountid=32521) http://search.proquest.com/docview/246571101?accountid=32521) www.ttexshevles.blogspot.com