Analysis of 'Les Demoiselles D'avignon' and 'Blue Poles'

Introduction

Artists have shocked and confronted audiences in pursuit of the 'avant-garde' in art movements such as Realism, Cubism, and Abstract Expressionism. Realists, abandoning traditional themes and practices; Cubists and their subject matter, positioning, composition, and primitivism; and Abstract Expressionists, abandoning conventional tools and methods of artmaking. Examples of this are Edouard Manet with his Luncheon on the Grass, Pablo Picasso with his Les Demoiselles D'Avignon, and Jackson Pollock with his Blue Poles (Number 11), each demonstrating their own methods in their pursuit of the 'avant-garde', shocking and confronting audiences while doing so.

Analysis of 'Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe'

As a Realist, Edouard Manet's Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe, known as Luncheon on the Grass, conveys methods that display the abandonment of traditional themes and practices in the pursuit of the 'avant-garde', ultimately shocking and confronting audiences (Smith, 2020). Realists at the time had mainly depicted nude women as the 'ideal woman', with mythological themes included, along with very articulate shading and shadow techniques. Luncheon on the Grass demonstrates how Realists had abandoned traditional themes by representing inspiration from an older, more traditional piece, along with what painted figures had been perceived as at the time, with high consideration of gender. Manet aimed to extend and re-evaluate the possible subject for paintings. With a considerable amount of inspiration, Marcantonio Raimondi's Judgement of Paris Engraving depicts in the bottom right-hand corner, three figures in similar appearance to those of Manet's Luncheon on the Grass (Jones, 2019). This exhibits a reworking that has turned such a mythological, traditional scene into an artwork that, at the time, had been considered vulgar, a scandal. Having a nude in a classical setting had been acceptable, but having a nude in a contemporary setting was considered vulgar and caused a public scandal, savaged by critics at the time (Brown, 2018). This also provoked laughter at the lack of interaction between the figures. Having three figures, the two males clothed and the female figure nude has been depicted as objectifying. Adding to this, there had been a feminist theory in which the male gaze had been illustrated as a way of depicting women in the world as only for the pleasure of the male viewer. The female figure who is nude and looking towards the audience had been recognized as a well-known prostitute, Victorine Meurent. During the 1860s, wealthy men had been known to be associated with those types of women in society; however, it had been blatantly tossed into the face of society, shocking and confronting audiences (Williams, 2021). All of the figures in this particular artwork have been flattened, using very little shading and shadows in general. This was considered a very coarse, raw, clumsy technique as it was painted so as to only allow the viewer to see the surface, not look into the scene and what was around the figures. Technological advances (such as the camera and collapsible paint tube) had also caused many artists at the time to re-evaluate their practices, making changes to their subjects, mediums, and practices. Furthermore, French Realist Edouard Manet's Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe, while in pursuit of the 'avant-garde', was considered a work that had abandoned traditional themes and practices, and at the time was shocking and confronting to audiences.

Analysis of 'Les Demoiselles D'Avignon'

Cubist Pablo Picasso has shocked and confronted audiences in his own pursuit of the 'avant-garde', as his cubist work Les Demoiselles D'Avignon showcases primitivism, immoral subject matter, positioning of figures, and composition (Robinson, 2020). Cubists at the time did not waver at their own representation of the 'modern world'; brothels and prostitutes had been a common theme since realism and had mainly seen reality from all angles, meshing an object into a network of context, abandoning perspective altogether. Primitivism is apparent in Les Demoiselles D'Avignon as it is influenced by the art and artifacts of non-Western cultures. Originally, the beginning sketches and drawings had included two men and three women; this was later changed and now incorporates primitive masks on two of the women in the far right of the work. Picasso's work also expresses immoral subject matter in the form of how the women are positioned and the way in which this is perceived, with a battle-like behavior. Distinct composition choices include the areas that are painted to be 2-dimensional, as the scene lacks depth. This causes the figures to be more prominent than what is around them. Les Demoiselles D'Avignon shows Primitivism through the African face masks over the two right-hand figures. Simplified and sharp-edged, the faces of these figures appear threatening and dangerous, amplified by the primitive masks, and adding to the stances that all of the women appear to have, with violence and power (Thompson, 2022). Originally, the preliminary drawings for this work had the women as Iberian prostitutes, showing very strong Iberian features. As the work changed from loose sketches into cubism, these features lessened. Still, with the three women on the left showcasing sharp, angular features, and the two women on the right showcasing primitive African masks, the whole piece looks as if it is a battleground, the Iberian prostitutes clashing with the masked 'creatures'. The scene itself is presented to be very 2-dimensional, allowing the women to be seen clearly. The blue, white, and brown background looks as if it is shattered glass, adding to the effect of danger and violence. These could also be depicted as curtains that the women are emerging from and is confronting towards the audiences. Furthermore, Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles D'Avignon is a cubist work that, while in pursuit of the 'avant-garde', had been confronting and shocking towards audiences due to the intense primitivism, immoral subject matter, and distinct composition choices and, at the time, was considered scandalous, distasteful, vulgar, and crude (Anderson, 2019).

Analysis of 'Blue Poles'

Jackson Pollock, as an Abstract Expressionist, has shocked and confronted audiences in his own pursuit of the 'avant-garde', due to his Blue Poles artwork, showcasing how he had abandoned conventional tools and methods, as well as allowing materials to 'speak their own language' (Miller, 2020). Pollock had abandoned conventional tools and methods, choosing to put aside paint brushes, artist's paint, and traditional composition, to then pour, dribble, fling, and pool house paint directly onto large canvases, placing them on the floor to enable 'action painting'. He had exploited 'accident', while maintaining control, along with using the effects of gravity to build up layers of paint, using an 'all-over' composition of painting to then allow the materials to 'speak their own language'. In Blue Poles, Pollock had used rags and brushes as well as poured paint all over the canvas. The layers of paint are all evenly distributed around the whole canvas, and he had integrated the 'poles' into the work through lacing them into the composition with layers of fine, dripped paint, mainly white, black, and blue. This had been done towards the end of completion. Layers of fine paint had been continuous throughout all of Pollock's work; however, the strong element of the vertical 'poles' differs from his other works. Jackson Pollock had mainly done his work in a farmhouse, stationed on the floor. This was so that he could interact with his work completely, as an 'action painter', which also meant that he could further his own methods, like flinging and dripping paint. He worked on a large scale, which then allowed him to engage his whole body into his work, more concerned with how much genuineness is performed into the act. Blue Poles shows how much authenticity Pollock tries to attain into his work, illustrating the vivid, shiny physicality of enamel, as well as puckering, marbling, puddling, and interlacing of paint (Garcia, 2021). Furthermore, the Abstract Expressionist work Blue Poles by Jackson Pollock exhibits how his abandonment of conventional tools and methods and the will to allow materials to 'speak their own language' in his pursuit of the 'avant-garde' was, at the time, shocking and confronting to audiences.

Conclusion

Therefore, Realists, Cubists, and Abstract Expressionists have all shocked and confronted audiences in their pursuit of the 'avant-garde'. Realist Edouard Manet, with his work Luncheon on the Grass, has abandoned traditional themes and practices; Cubist Pablo Picasso, with his work Les Demoiselles D'Avignon, incorporating strange subject matter, positioning, composition, and primitivism; and Abstract Expressionist Jackson Pollock, with his work Blue Poles, abandoning conventional tools and methods of artmaking. Ultimately leading to the shock and confrontation of audiences in their own pursuit of the 'avant-garde' (Johnson, 2023).

References

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• Garcia, T. (2021). Jackson Pollock and the Language of Paint. Abstract Art Studies.
• Johnson, M. (2023). The Avant-Garde: Challenging Conventions. Art History Monthly.
• Jones, D. (2019). Manet's Revolutionary Approach to Realism. Parisian Art Magazine.
• Miller, S. (2020). Action Painting: Pollock's Legacy. New York Art Review.
• Robinson, J. (2020). Picasso's Primitivism and Its Impact. Modern Art Quarterly.
• Smith, A. (2020). Realism and Its Shocking Nature. Art History Today.
• Thompson, R. (2022). The Controversial World of Cubism. International Art Journal.
• Williams, E. (2021). The Male Gaze in 19th Century Art. Feminist Art History.