Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) |
In 1907, Picasso presented to some of his fellow artists what is considered a single most important piece of art in the 20th century, the Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (Arnason). Inspired by arts from different cultures, Picasso used a combination of ideas from around the world to create something totally unique.
The piece was definitely not well received. Picasso presented
the audience with a concept so different from the traditional Classical
art that people couldn't accept it. He made the supposedly perfect
female body into something angular and flat made painted the female
faces wearing Afican tribal masks (Arnason).
In attempt to break free from traditional ways, this painting served
as Picasso's way of rebelling against the traditional Classical
painting favored by almost everybody at the time.
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This revolutionary piece of art in turn inspired a fellow artist Georges
Braque. Together him and Picasso started a new style -- Cubism (Staller).
Nude (1909) |
In Cubism, Picasso emphasized mainly on form. He converted
his subjects into simple geomertric shapes and painted them from many
different angles with different light source (Scarborough).
During this period of time, both Picasso and Braque found inspiration
from each other and continued to push the envelope of Cubism. Cubism
evolved to the point that the image no longer resemble the original
subject. Unfortunately war broke out and Braque had to join the
army while Picasso continued to work in Paris.
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In 1971, Picasso met Olga Kokhlova, got married and had a child. Picasso's
drawing style once again changed based on this new experience. During
this time, his paintings often portrayed a mother and a child, and he
also experimented with different styles. Picasso began to paint figures
with exaggerated proportions to make his subjects more powerful.
"Each time I have had something to say, I said it in the manner in which I felt it ought to be said." - Pablo Picasso
[ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, source ]
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