It would certainly take more than a post on a blog to discuss the women in Picasso's life and art, but I went this evening to a poetry reading focusing on Picasso and his painting, Les Demoiselles D'Avignon. Poets read from work written around the same time as Demoiselles was painted in 1907, 100 years ago. We heard work by Andres Breton, Apollinaire, Baudelaire, Gertrude Stein, Max Jacob, and others. It was wonderful and inspiring.
As is the painting. He was a notorious misogynist and many of his depictions of women are less than flattering. They reflect his obvious conflict between his love of women and his anger at them, or even hatred of them. But, he painted them, sometimes lovingly. Always in tremendous detail and with an eye like no other.
1 comment:
Sounds like a great evening. I've seen that particular work in person.. and I've always been fond of Picasso. Growing up, I had no idea he was so heavily influenced in his "innovations" by African tribal art as now appears to be the case. I wonder if some of what you term unflattering may be derivative of that art? I don't know, myself. I haven't studied it enough to have any real idea. Just wondering....
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