In Picasso's Demoiselles, eminent art historian Suzanne Preston Blier uncovers the previously unknown history of Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, one of the twentieth century's most important, celebrated, and studied paintings. Drawing on her expertise in African art and newly discovered sources, Blier reads the painting not as a simple bordello scene but as Picasso's interpretation of the diversity of representations of women from around the world that he encountered in photographs and sculptures. These representations are central to understanding the painting's creation and help identify the demoiselles as global figures, mothers, grandmothers, lovers, and sisters, as well as part of the colonial world Picasso inhabited. Simply put, Blier fundamentally transforms what we know about this revolutionary and iconic work.
- Cover
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- One. Setting, Sources, Titles, and Time
- Two. The Making of a Painting
- Three. Art in the Flesh
- Four. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
- Five. L’Oiseau du Bénin
- Six. The Global Brothel
- Seven. Le Bordel Philosophique
- Conclusions. The Creative Nexus
- Acknowledgments
- Sketchbooks: New Dating
- Chronology
- List of Illustrations
- Notes
- References
- Index
- Color Plates
Text
Audio
Adobe DRM
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