Pablo Picasso (1905-1906)
Oil on canvas
99.6 x 81.3 cm.
Portrait of Gertrude Stein
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Portrait of Gertrude Stein
The portrait of Gertrude Stein a friend of Henri Mattisse was painted after Picasso had attended an exhibition at the Louvre in 1906 on Iberian sculpture…Iberia is the ancient name of Spain this was the period where Picasso’s style radically changed…like Matisse who became fascinated in the primitive form…which was described as ‘a lyrical manner of suggesting movement, it was Picasso who tried to ‘imprint on the face a sculptural intensity close to that of a mask’. According to Cezanne the inspiration for Picasso’s transformation into Cubism he was quoted in saying ‘all pre existing criteria of illustration or feeling have to be dissolved and converted into plastic energy’
From Picasso’s portrait of Gertrude Stein which presented a sculptural element to his style influenced by Iberian sculpture…this iconic painting was a way of treating space and of expressing emotion…therefore this has become one of the most significant painting’s of the 20th century…(Emma Selina, 2007) stated that ‘It has long been acknowledged that Picasso derived considerable inspiration from so called “primitive” cultures. Numerous art historians have enumerated examples on this idea, citing the art of Ancient Egypt, Tahiti, and Africa as influences. The ancient art from Picasso’s propio país, or homeland, was no exception. In an interview with Christian Zevros in 1939 Picasso stated that the attribution of his forms to African art in Demoiselles d’Avignon was incorrect and that the real inspiration had come from Iberian sculpture’.
Emma Selina (2007 ) Picasso in Dimension: Born of an Ancient Synthesis
Available at: emmatipping.blogspot.com/
(Accessed: 5th September 2010)
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