pablo Picasso, les demoiselles d'avignon, 1907

Question 1

year

Answer 1

1907

Question 1

subject

Answer 1

recalls scene from brothel on avignon street ‘calle de avinyo’ in Barcelona- where picasso lived

subject of prostitution had earned a prominent place in the avant garden of 19th C

rejected academy style nude

Question 2

what was the influence of cezanne

Answer 2

-develops the pictorial approaches of cezanné

-distortions in form

-radical simplification of the human figure

-combination of viewpoints

Question 3

influence of Gaugin

Answer 3

gaugin primitivism had a large influence

his sculptural works showed influence of non western sculpture

gaugin influenced development of interest in the primitive in paris avant garden

his retrospective of works at the salon d’automne in 1906 influenced him

Question 4

picasso and mattisse rivalry

Answer 4

-picasso recated with jealousy when mattisse was heralded the most avant garde painter in Paris after ‘joy of life’, which picasso saw at the steins house

-picasso also saw blue nude at the steins house only months before les demoiselles

-mattisse influenced by cezanne so picasso also was

Question 5

faces of figures

Answer 5

faces are simplified, removes identity from figures, recalling primitive art

Question 6

figure on the left influence

Answer 6

figure on the left is reminiscent of ancient egyptian figures in profile, with full eye frontal

Question 7

two central figures influence

Answer 7

-influenced by iberian sculpture
-characterised by simplified shapes and forms
-picasso purchased 2 iberian sculpture heads that inspired this idea

Question 8

influence of ethnographic museum

Answer 8

picasso visited ethnographic museum surrounded by primitive artefacts

primitive african masks picasso saw there influenced the faces of the figures

Question 9

influence of masks

Answer 9

conceptual style of presentation

portrays the idea of a face instead of naturalism

reduction of form to stylised geometric elements

scarring on cheeks

Question 10

syphilis

Answer 10

he grotesque, mask-like faces, particularly the influence of African masks, can be interpreted as a way to dehumanize and distance the figures, representing Picasso’s fear of the physical and emotional consequences of sexual intimacy.

The brothel setting, distorted forms, and dehumanizing masks all reflect a deep unease about the consequences of sexual relationships, making the painting a groundbreaking exploration of early 20th-century anxieties around sex, disease, and modernity.