Comparing The Painting 'Gertrude Stein And The Toilette Of Venus'

Midterm Project

Art is the expression or application of human creative skills and imagination. Most of the artist enjoys to express their feelings by their creative skills. For example, the “Gertrude Stein” painting by Pablo Picasso is portrait of a woman. Picasso painted the woman he knew. In this portrait Stein is looking straight at the painter and she has this dark look on her face. She is not happy, nor really upset. The colors of the painting are dark, possibly expressing this serious view of hers. On the other hand, “The Toilette of Venus” by Francois Boucher is about the goddess of love, so the colors he uses to express that goddess are vibrant and bright. The body of the goddess of love and her cupids are soft, supple and blond. The carved and gilded rococo sofa, the silk, velvet and gold damask drapery are elaborated to express the joy of life and the abundance that she is engaged in.

That was the time that Picasso first came into contact with American ex-patriot and author named Gertrude Stein. She was one of the foremost patrons of modern art in Paris. “Gertrude Stein” was the first American to respond with enthusiasm to the artistic Revolution in Europe in the early years of the twentieth century. In Picasso’s portrait, Stein is shown seated in a large armchair, wearing her favorite brown velvet coat and skirt. Stein sat for Picasso ninety times until he got the right painting.

Francois Boucher was born in Paris in 1703. Boucher gained his fame specifically during the Rococo Age or Fantasy Style. Around 1736, he become the first painter to King Louis XV, creating magnificent pieces like the portrait of King Louis himself. Boucher’s success