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_Cubism and Picasso _
By: Unknown
I N T R O D U C T I O N Picassos development toward cubism reached its climax
with the monumental justly celebrated Demoiselles dAvignon (1906). This
painting, named for a brothel in Barcelonas Avignon Street, depicts, in a
highly stylized form, five angular nude or partially draped women grouped
around an arrangement of fruit. This final, condensed version, developed
through many preparatory works, was attained by gradual simplifications and
eliminations of an originally conspicuous subject matter. 1. LINEAR (SHARP
CONTOURS) VS PAINTERLY (LINES ARE INDISTINCT Picasso shows a rethinking of the
human body in Les Demoiselles. This ranges from a simplified naturalism, (in
the centre figures) to an increased sense of fragmentation in to angular
forms, each of which appears to have an independent existence. Such
disjunction of body parts challenged the standards by which the human body had
been constructed before. In synchronicity, the background elements of
draperies and wall were fragmented, aligned with the figural handling.
2. PLANE (SPACE BULIT UP OF SEMI-INDEPENDENT PLANES) VS RECESSION (UNIFIED BY
DIAGONAL PLANES) It is quite difficult to determine whether Les Demoiselles
should be catogorized as the plane or recession option for the following
reasons: Picasso shifted the point of view at will heads, noses and eyes are
seen simultaneously in profile and full front. In other words, the vision of
the spectator is enlarged to include a number of different views. As thought
they were moving form point to point, looking up then down. Modern studies of
perception have shown that this is the way one forms a visual image of an
object. Not from one fixed all encompassing glance, but from an infinite
number of momentary glimpses, formulated and unified into a whole by the
spectators mind. Cubism introduced into painting not only a new kind of
space, but also another dimension, time. Therefore one may conclude that Les
Demoiselles is neither built up of semi-independent planes nor unified by
diagonals. 3. ABSOULTE CLARITY (DESCIBED OBJECTS) VS RELATIVE CLARITY
(SUGGESTED OBJECTS) It is also quite difficult to determine whether this
painting depicts absolute clarity or relative clarity. One might suggest
that Les Demoiselles demonstrates absolute clarity since all objects are in
plane sight, meaning none of the figures/objects are clouded by shadow. Yet,
relative clarity is also suggested. Although the figures/objects may easily
be viewed, it can, at times be hard to determine what exactly is being
observed, (ie. drapery) 4. COLOUR + LIGHT ADHERES TO FROM VS COLOUR + LIGHT IS
COLOUR REFRACTED/REFLECTED There is no suggestion of either light or shadow,
with the exception of the figure in the upper right corner who appears to be
engulfed in shadow. 5. POTENTIALLY LIMITLESS TIME VS SINGLE DRAMATIC MOMENT
Since Les Demoiselles depicts a brothel scene one would assume that a series a
lounging nude females would be common place, therefore depicting a potentially
limitless period of time.
Word Count: 481
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