In the course of 1909 the influence of Cézanne asserts itself with decisive effect. This applies not only to Cézannes effort to reduce natural appearance to basic stereometric forms, but also to this technique of modulations, i.e., of constructing the picture surface by piecing together colored plane particles. In a head of a woman Picasso, who is now concerned with plastic rather than pictorial values, resorts directly to the principle of modulations: he articulates the head into facets, splitting it up into small angular and spherical planes. The aim pursued here can be only partially achieved if the artist clings to his model: Cézanne had wasted his strength trying to solve this problem comparable to the squaring of the circle. That is why the face in our drawing is less abstract than the coiffure, the torso, or the hand. In the face itself, the mouth is naturalistic, the ear is completely geometric, and the eye is a little of each. As against the Demoiselles dAvignon. this drawing marks a temporary regression: once again the autonomy of the picture is sacrificed to the static structure of the figure. The figure paintings of 1909 disclose the same one-sided concern with plastic effects, which is confirmed by the use of subdued colors (chiefly ochers and grays) in the modulation planes. The well-known bronze head of 1910 attempts to apply the principle of modulations to sculpture. allposters/-sp/Woman-in-an-Armchair-Posters_i376355_.htm?aid=1026485658&LinkTypeID=2&PosterTypeID=1&DestType=7
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 15:40:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015