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What Is Les Demoiselles D Avignon

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ime to produce a work that is a preeminent example of an established movement at its zenith, or that heralds the beginning of a new and significant art movement. Pablo Picasso was very much an artist who was always on the leading edge of art and whose influence was so significant that he helped establish four movements: Cubism, Neoclassicism, Surrealism, and Expressionism (Voorhies, 2004. para. 1). His unique vision and artistic foresight came together early in his career in 1907 with his first masterpiece, "Les Demoiselles D'Avignon". Combining traditional elements with abstracted forms and unexpected primitive motifs, the painting was initially rejected by patrons and fellow artists but is now recognized as "one of the most important works in the genesis of modern art" ("Les Demoiselles", 2016, para. 3).

Upon first viewing, the enormous size of the painting (8' x 7' 8" …show more content…

James Voorhies from The Metropolitan Museum of Art writes that "The influence of African and Oceanic art is explicit" in this work and that it "signals the nascent stages of Cubism" ("Pablo Picasso", 2004, para. 3). These elements of Cubism extend from the figures across the entire right third of the canvas juxtaposing multiple perspectives of the nudes who seem to peak out from behind a curtain formed by the distorted blue and white folds. The two central nudes are posed in an almost brazen gesture of repose softened by graceful lines and the translucent folds of classically arranged cloth suggestive of the Venus de Milo. From the left, a shadowed figure places a detailed and

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