Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
From ArticleWorld
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is one of the most famous paintings by Pablo Picasso. This painting is of five prostitutes. Picasso painted this artwork, which was completed it in the summer of 1907 in France.
Creating the Picasso painting
'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon', by Picasso, took about one hundred sketches and studies to prepare for the painting. It is considered the most important Cubist painting, and one of the most important artworks in all of Modern art. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon can be viewed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Analysis of the figures in Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
Each of the figures in Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is drawn differently. The woman on the far left has a head that is the most cubist of all five, using quite geometric shapes. The crouching figure's head underwent two revisions, at least. An African mask inspired the masked figure. The two figures in the center were created by the influence of Iberian sculptures, characterized by their large ears and wide eyes.
Multiple styles occur within the work. The dominant understanding for over five decades espoused most notably Alfred Barr, the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. He explains the multiple styles of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon as evidence of a transition period in Picasso's art. Another critic Leo Steinberg, in 1974, argues that the variety of styles is a deliberate attempt to capture the gaze of the viewer. The five women focus solely on the viewer intensifying this effect. Steinberg also argues that a world of meanings can be possible, suggesting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon as a meditation on the danger of sex. The work could also be an autobiographical reading of Picasso's own relationship with women. Whatever interpretation one gives to the painting, the texture, use of many styles, geometric cubism, and unique qualities of the masterpiece makes Les Demoiselles d'Avignon important work of art both historically and artistically, and worthy of study.