Les Demoiselles De Avignon Essays - Visual Arts, Modern Art, Arts

Les Demoiselles De Avignon Les Demoiselles d?Avignon by Josh McDonnell As strolled through New York City?s Museum of Modern Art , one particular painting grabbed me , shook me , then through me to the ground to contemplate its awesome power. Like a whirlwind of art , Les Demoiselles d?Avignon , by Pablo Picasso , sent my emotions spinning. I felt extremely uncomfortable glancing at it , let alone staring at it closely for twenty minutes. The raw sexuality and tension that Les Demoiselles d?Avignon radiated was absolutely overwhelming yet very confusing. Other art lovers in the room also expressed discomfort as they glanced at the enormous 96x92 inch painting. Most people would only allow quick glances in between long stares at the more typical paintings on the other walls. I even heard one girl remark ?it?s so gross!!? in a nervous and uncertain voice. I had to know why Les Demoiselles d?Avignon was doing this to me and the others in the room. Les Demoiselles d?Avignon was the product of an irritated and restless Pablo Picasso. In 1906 , Picasso began to tire of painting in the fairly traditional manner that governed his paintings up to Les Demoiselles d?Avignon. His solution was to revolutionize painting.1 Why was Picasso unsatisfied with traditional painting? Essentially Picasso?s overall dissatisfaction for sticking with anything for a long period caused him to take up the difficult quest of revolutionizing painting. He was known to constantly change the styles and mediums through which he created his art. Andre Salmon, a poet and friend Picasso, was once quoted as accusing Picasso of ?trying to force his friends to speculate on the whole problem of art every time they took a brush in their hands.? 2 This quote is very telling of Picasso?s need to change and solve artistic problems. In 1906 he abandoned the painting traditions that stretched all the way back to the Renaissance , and began Les Demoiselles d?Avignon. Les Demoiselles d?Avignon was the product of intense study. The comments of Salmon , shed light on the intensity of the project; ?....He became uneasy , He turned his canvases to the wall and threw down his paintbrushes. For many long days and nights , he drew....Never was labor less rewarded with joy , and without his former youthful enthusiasm Picasso undertook a large canvas that was intended to be the fruit of his experiments.? 3 Every aspect of the painting was carefully planned and executed. One might compare his trial and error method to that of a scientific experiment. His study began in late 1906. Over the next year Les Demoiselles d?Avignon?s details went through many changes and modifications. In Picasso?s own words; According to my first idea, there were also going to be men in the painting. There was a student holding a skull, and a sailor. The women were eating--that explains the basket of fruit that is still in the painting. Then it changed and became what it is now. P icasso eventually decided to exclude the two male figures , as he felt they were trying to present some kind of moral to the painting.4 Instead he focused on the five nude female figures that we see today. It is important to note that Picasso hated the title Les Demoiselles d?Avignon. Originally he did not have a title in mind for the painting. The name was created by his friend Andre Salmon He felt that Les Demoiselles d?Avignon was much to gentle. It detracted from the harsh and ugly reality that the painting represented.5 Eventually he accepted the name due to his friends constant use of it. Picasso finally finished the work in July of 1907. He of course invited all his closest friends to take a look at his revolutionary painting. His friends , whom were considered contemporary avante-garde painters and connoisseurs , were shocked. Gertrude Stein was speechless. Shchukin ,the Russian art collector cried ,What a loss for French art!. His future partner in cubism commented that pai nting in such a way was as bad as drinking petrol in the hope of spitting fire. Matisse had the most violent reaction. He swore revenge on what he called a barbaric mockery of modern painting. The