Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Pablo Picasso Analysis

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The painting I'm going to be analyzing is "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" which is a painting created by Pablo Picasso in 1907. This artwork is a prime example of the cubist style that developed in the early 20th century which served to break down traditional ideas of perspective and representation in art. The painting is oil on canvas and measures 96 x 92 inches, making it a large-scale work that overpowers the viewer's field of vision. Picasso's technique in "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" is characterized by a rough or “primitive” style of painting. The brushstrokes are visible and thickly applied, with many layers of paint creating a textured surface that draws the eye in. The use of color in this work is striking, with a range of bold, saturated colors used to create some sort of dynamic between the figures and the background. The use of color contributes to the overall idea of the work, which to me seems like fragmentation and dislocation. The composition of "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" is complex and layered and this is my personal interpretation and analysis of the work.

The painting features five female figures, each with a distinctive pose and expression. The figures are placed in what looks like a close space with some overlapping and others facing directly toward the viewer. The work is showing five nude women in a brothel. Two of these women wore masks that Picasso was influenced by when he was observing at the Trocadero. In this work, he emulated sub-saharan African art that is in the Trocadero similar to Matisse and Derain as well as ancient Iberian Sculptures which can be seen in the facial features of his figures. The figures are painted in what seems like a stylized/angled manner, with distorted proportions and fragmented figures all over. The bodies of Picasso’s women look dangerous as if they were formed out of shards of broken glass completely moving away from the male gaze of women being in feminine poses with feminine features.

The background is a flat, patterned curtain-type thing and a striped fabric hanging from the ceiling.

The color scheme is primarily subtle browns and grays, with the exception of the bold blue and green on the women. This color palette is deliberately disorienting with no clear hierarchy of one color over another. This lack of color dominance again seems intentional when contributing to the overall sense of fragmentation in the work. The visual elements of the work relate to each other in a fragmented, almost broken way, with sharp contrasts and shifts of shapes and colors.

The figures are angled/geometric with sharp angles and edges that to me add to this sense of disjointedness. The painting is oil on canvas which is pretty traditional when it comes to art at that time but the application of the paint by Picasso is far from traditional. The brushstrokes are visible and deliberately rough, with the paint applied thickly. This enables Picasso to use multiple perspectives and broken-looking figures to add to the overall message of the work which I think is fragmentation.

Furthermore, line is a significant element in "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", with thick, bold lines used to define the figures and create a sense of movement. The lines range in thickness and shape, with some curved and others angular all adding to this sense of fragmentation/dislocation in his work.

The shapes in this painting are distorted and angled with the female figures painted in abstract forms that are difficult to recognize at first glance. The shapes are mainly flat, with some areas of depth that create visual illusions through the use of overlapping shapes, varying line work, and broken distorted-looking figures. The lines are mainly horizontal and diagonal, with few curves all adding to a sense of instability or unease.

Next is space in "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon". Space is pretty important in this work since Picasso was attempting to break down the traditional idea of perspective and representation in art. Picasso's organization of the painting is layered and fragmented, with some areas appearing to get smaller in the distance and others remaining flat and two-dimensional. The use of space with overlapping shapes and different line weights creates a sense of depth and complexity while on the other hand, the flatness of the painting's surface emphasizes its two-dimensional nature and simultaneously does the opposite ultimately creating these distortions and fragments.

Moving on to light. The light and dark relationships in "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" to me seem like they are used to create a sense of depth and contrast in the work. The figures are often highlighted by these areas of light and/or shadow, with some parts of the painting appearing brighter and others darker. From what we have gone over in class and what I could find from further research there is no clear light source which I think was intentional in order to add to this sense of fragmentation and dislocation in the painting.

Now I'll go over the texture in "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon". This is an important aspect of the work, with the surface of the canvas appearing rough and heavily textured. Picasso apparently used impasto and other techniques to create a touchable/textured quality to the painting, inviting the viewer to engage with the work.

Next are the materials and techniques used in "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", which are helpful when showing Picasso's experimentation with new ways of making art. While painted the figures still seem almost cut out and pasted onto the background. The lack of depth in the women's figures also adds to Picasso's idea of creating a disjointed fragmented Cubist work.

"Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" has had a significant influence on the development of art in the 20th century. It marked a turning point in the history of modern art, breaking away from traditional representational art and paving the way for new abstract artistic movements. Picasso's “radical” use of space, fragmentation, and emphasis on the flatness of the canvas have inspired countless artists and art movements throughout the 20th century. The most notable movement was Cubism, Analytic, and Synthetic Cubism when it comes to our class. He also inspired and worked with Georges Braque. Picasso is credited with developing the Cubist style, which is characterized by the use of multiple viewpoints and the fragmentation of form. The figures in "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" are broken down into geometric planes and shapes just like later Cubist works, this work simply foreshadows the Cubist approach to representing forms/figures. The painting's flattening of space and emphasis on two-dimensionality also aligns with Cubism's interest in breaking away from the traditional Renaissance perspective and other perspectives such as Matisse’s with his idea of incorporating or conveying sensuality in his art.

The influence of "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" on Braque's work is widely recognized as being crucial to the development of Cubism. Braque met Picasso in 1907 and the two immediately began collaborating on new approaches to representational art. They discussed how they could break down the traditional systems of perspective and create a new system. It seems they desired a more fragmented way of seeing the world. This led to a new artistic movement, known as Analytic Cubism. Braque's early Cubist paintings, such as "Houses at L'Estaque" (1908) and "The Viaduct at L'Estaque" (1908), demonstrate his debt to Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", similar to homages paid by Picasso to artists before him such as Paul Gaugin with his primitivism and Paul Cezanne's ideology of nature and life to be composed in shapes and forms. Like Picasso's paintings, Braque's early Cubist works show an interest in breaking down the traditional conventions of perspective and space. In these paintings, he is interested in representing the subject matter from multiple viewpoints at once, creating a fragmented and disorienting effect just like Picasso. Braque's paintings also show a similar interest in form and color to "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon". In "Houses at L'Estaque," for example, he uses a limited color palette of brown, gray, and blue, and breaks down the forms of the houses into geometric shapes. This emphasis on form and color would become a focal point of Analytic Cubism. Braque's "Violin and Palette" (1909-1910) is a significant work that shows the artist taking Picasso's ideas in "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" to a new level. In this painting, Braque shows a violin and a palette, both of which have been broken down into multiple geometric shapes. Picasso and Braque's innovations in Cubism were hugely influential on other artists. The other artists who were influenced by Braque include Juan Gris and Francis Picabia. Gris was particularly interested in Braque's use of the still life as a subject, and he developed his own unique form of Cubism that was characterized by a focus on the relationship between objects and the surrounding space known as Synthetic Cubism.

Overall, Braque's work was heavily influenced by Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", and he played a crucial role in the development of Cubism, specifically Analytic Cubism as a branch of Cubism that all developed out of Picasso's groundbreaking innovations in art. Similarly, Braque's innovations in form, color, and space were hugely influential on other artists just like how Picasso was to him. Their legacy can still be seen in the work of artists today. Another artist who was greatly influenced by "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" was Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp was one of the pioneers of the Dada movement, who also wanted to shift traditional views of art. Duchamp's Nude "Descending a Staircase, No. 2", created just a few years after "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", shows a figure in motion broken down into geometric planes, much like Picasso's figures. The painting is a clear homage to Picasso's work and demonstrates the influence that "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" had on the avant-garde art movements of the early 20th century.

In addition, the Surrealist movement which emerged in the 1920s, was also influenced by "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon". Surrealism was interested in the subconscious or irrational, and its artists often created “dreamlike”, otherworldly art. The fragmented forms in Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and its use of dislocation inspired Surrealists such as Salvador Dali and Max Ernst. Dali's paintings "The Persistence of Memory", with its melting clocks and dreamlike elements, and "Accommodations of Desire" with its lion cutouts are clear examples of the Cubist Surrealist influence.

Finally, Abstract Expressionism, which emerged in the 1940s and 50s, was also influenced by "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon". Abstract Expressionist artists such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko were interested in the possibilities of color and line. They sought to create works that were purely abstract with recognizable forms just like how Picasso created abstract forms in disapproval or disagreement with Renaissance Art in his work. The abstract forms as well as its use of color and line to convey emotions was a clear precursor to the Abstract Expressionist movements we are learning about in class.

In conclusion, "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" is an incredibly pivotal work of 20th-century art that has had a significant influence on the development of modern art. Its extreme, primitive, and “radical” use of space, fragmentations of form, and emphasis on the flatness of the canvas inspired numerous artistic movements and artists throughout the 20th century, including Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism. Picasso's unique approach to painting has forever changed the course of art history, and his legacy continues to inspire artists today.