A Detailed Examination of Pablo Picasso's Painting Les Demoiselles D'avignon

“Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” is a large oil painting created by Cubist artist Pablo Picasso in 1907. Picasso influence by Cezanne’s painting, Africa sculpture and traditional cultures for co-founding the cubist movement, Cubist artists use broken forms and re-combine them to created a two-dimensional space painting. And then, in Cubism art work used traditional elements, because Picasso many ideas from history too. In painting “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” description five nude female usually set in a landscape, when Picasso start to work on this painting, he gone to the street and sketch in the Barcelona. Picasso translates Avignon young women, he to the painting can connect with prostitutes. Some people doubt this painting is a Expressionism art work, in my opinion, this painting is a Cubism art work. Expressionism artists through the their works to description their emotion, and they distortion or abstraction forms. So I have three reasons to support painting “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” is a Cubism art work, followed by traditional elements, figure and ground together and broken figures.

Firstly, Picasso has many idea from the history and ancient cultures, so the Cubism artists always used traditional elements to created, In painting “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” Picasso used traditional pictures to created curvaceous nude bathers, we can see the human bodies very uncomfortable. Through the five woman in the picture, can be found stark differences, two women on the right is clearly influenced by African art wind, rough and crooked face and body proportions are very inconsistent. Not only is the proportion of the body and even organic integrity and continuity, they have been denied. The two women on the right is subject to the Iberian-style influence, the slight modifications under neoclassical female body.

”In breaking with Western art conventions that reached back to ancient Greece and roman, Picasso looked inspiration from other, equally ancient traditions”(textbook pg85). In the other hand, Expressionism artists not used traditional elements to created their works so this painting is not match with Expressionism theme. So through those shows “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” forms used some traditional elements, thus this painting is a Cubism artwork.

Secondly, Pablo Picasso combine figure and ground together,In order to express the object is the most complete picture. Each viewpoint view objects overlap discharge caused many angles perpendicular and parallel lines, scattered shadow cubism screen does not make a three-dimensional perspective of Western painting traditions cause illusion. Themes and screen interactive interludes, let painting pictures to create a two-dimensional feature space. Space screen display is actually very shallow, so that the painting looks as if the performance is a relief image. Painter intentionally to cover the distance between the characters and the background, trying to make all parts of the picture are displayed on the same surface. If we pay attention to the right side of the blue block background, it can be found in the artist's originality. Blue, usually with a retreat in the visual effects. Without human body “ there is merging of figure and ground, reflecting the assumption that all portions of the work participate its expression”.(Textbook Pg 85). The especially space is the Cubism very important element, Picasso used “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” to make a good example for Cubism artists.

Finally, the last reason to help me support “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” is a Cubism art work used the broken figures and the figures into flat planes. Picasso put five people in different parts of the sides, are collected in a single plane, the different perspectives of people were combinations. It appears as if he put the body of the first five decomposed into simple geometric shapes and flexible color, and then on the canvas re-combination, positive woman's breasts into a twisted side of the front face will appear on the side of the nose, facial features and even a face all the wrong position, showing a stretched or extended state. It presents a single plane of the screen, with no sense of three-dimensional perspective. such as "the breasts of the figure at upper right and the mask just below".(Textbook Pg85) Broken figure and re-combine them is another important element to consider the painting style, so broken figure is the important evidence to description this painting is a Cubism art work.

“Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” is the first Cubism style work in this world, Pablo Picasso through this painting shows he get a new painting style. Traditional elements, used figures to created a two-dimensional space painting and broken figure and re combine them to flat planes are the Cubism artworks specially elements then other painting styles. And then, Picasso shows those specially elements in this painting, when the viewers watch this work it can be shows Picasso’s all ideas about Cubism. Thus“Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” absolutely is a Cubism artworks, perhaps with ordinary people's point of view it is not pretty, but the art of beauty and ugliness are relatively subjective. The painting turned Cubism, more profoundly affected subsequent modern art world, and the history of art is also very important presence.