Examination of Pablo Picasso's Painting Cubism in Les Demoiselles D'avignon

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is a large oil painting created by Pablo Picasso in 1907. The Spanish artist Pablo Picasso worked in many different styles, constantly challenging the illusions and Western conceptual traditions to find a new style. He was influenced by many different art styles, such as Cézanne’s paintings and African sculptures. Picasso had a partner named Georges Braque, and together they worked to create Cubism. Thus, Picasso was influenced by Braque as well. Cubism was popular from 1907 to 1914 and was sponsored by Picasso and Braque. When Picasso worked in the Cubist style, he introduced three innovations: nontraditional elements, the merging of figures and ground, and the depiction of figures and other elements on flat planes. During avant-garde times, artists worked in highly abstract styles, so Cubism is characterized by positivism, abstraction, and experimentation.

Analysis of Pablo Picasso's Cubism in Les Demoiselles D'Avignon Painting

In the painting, Picasso sets five nude female bodies against a room background. He seems to be inspired by the streets of Barcelona and transported the women he observed in Avignon onto his canvas. Some critics argue that the painting was completed in the Expressionist style, as Expressionists use distorted or abstract forms to represent emotions. However, Picasso, as the co-founder of the Cubist movement, reconstructs broken forms for a two-dimensional view. Cubism also relies on nontraditional elements, including historical references that Picasso frequently used. Therefore, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is, in fact, a work of Cubism rather than Expressionism. This is because it follows nontraditional elements like combining figures and ground while using broken figures.

Historical and Cultural Influences

First, Picasso borrows many ideas from history and ancient cultures, and his created figures are influenced by history. In painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Picasso uses nontraditional imagery to create curvaceous nude bathers. Among the five women in the painting, the two on the right seem to be influenced by African art styles. Their crude and angular faces and body proportions are very inconsistent with the human form. These two figures have been denied integrity and continuity. The three women on the left side are influenced by traditional art styles, where those figures are more clearly human. However, the artist made slight alterations to the traditional female body because the figures appear very curt and deformed. As noted by Richardson (1989), "In breaking with Western art conventions that reached back to ancient Greece and Rome, Picasso [sought] inspiration from other, equally ancient traditions" (p. 85). Picasso made the figures appear rough and deformed, using African art styles to challenge traditional notions of beauty. Picasso created special figures by himself, so his figures are nontraditional elements. Thus, this painting is not Expressionist but Cubist in its use of historical elements and nontraditional forms.

Merging of Figures and Ground

Second, Pablo Picasso combined figure and ground together. Picasso used angles and perpendicular and parallel lines to make the objects overlap in the painting. We can see the shadow around the woman’s body on the right side; the shadow appears very scattered, creating a two-dimensional perspective. This effect is like being in the same scene, as three-dimensional space offers a more realistic effect than a two-dimensional plane. Themes and screen interactive interludes allow artists to create a two-dimensional feature space in their paintings. On the other hand, Picasso used figures and ground to create very shallow space, making the painting resemble a relief. Picasso hoped to bring the figures and ground closer, making the figures an integral part of the painting. In the block background on the right side of the painting, Picasso uses blue to cause figures to retreat in visual effects. As Geitlin (2015) stated, "merging of figure and ground, reflecting the assumption that all portions of the work participate in its expression" (p. 85). The painting perfectly reflects the Cubist concept and use of space.

Use of Broken Figures and Flat Planes

Finally, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is a Cubist work because of the use of broken figures and the representation of figures on flat planes. Picasso combines different sides of a person’s face in a single plane, recombining different perspectives of people. The artist breaks down characters' bodies into simple geometric shapes and then recombines these parts on his canvas. For example, a woman on the upper left side has breasts that may appear on her face; the front face will appear on the side of the nose; facial features will be in a stretched or extended state. Picasso presents a single plane of this painting with no sense of three-dimensional perspective, for example, "the breasts of the figure at upper right and the mask just below" (Richardson, 1989, p. 85), due to the use of broken figures and recombined elements. Picasso used broken shapes and recombined shapes to create his work because humans live in a four-dimensional space and do not have enough time to notice all things. When Picasso wanted to show this idea in his paintings, he provided a different perspective to observe the same person and the things he thought were important to draw on paper. Finally, Picasso recombined those important elements on his canvas, allowing us to feel a four-dimensional space through his works. Thus, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is a Cubist work.

Conclusion

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is, in fact, revolutionary; the painting marks Picasso’s initiation into Cubism. It is the first painting of the Cubist period and reflects the style and philosophy of that era. The painting incorporates traditional elements and uses figures to create a two-dimensional space. Figures are broken and re-combined onto flat planes. Although some critics might not consider the work attractive, as art is relatively subjective, the composition is undeniably original. The painting marks the origins of a new movement that profoundly affected the subsequent modern art world.

References

• Geitlin, J. (2015). The Cubist Revolution. New York: Art Press.
• Richardson, J. (1989). A Life of Picasso. New York: Random House.