Analysis Of Picasso's Les Demoiselles Avignon

No one could look at Picasso’s large painting of 1907, Les Demoiselles Avignon (fig.1-13 in the book) and call it aesthetically beautiful, but it is for many people, one of his most aesthetically interesting works. Nearly, 8 feet square, it would come to be considered one of the most of the first major painting of the modern era and one of the least beautiful. The titled, chosen not by Picasso but by a close friend, literally mean “the young ladies of Avignon”, but it’s somewhat tongue-in-check reference is specifically to the prostitutes of Avignon Street, the red-light district of Barcelona, Spain, Picasso’s hometown. We know a great deal about Picasso’s process as he worked on the canvas from late 1906 into early summer months of 1907, not only because many of his working sketches survive but also because the canvas itself has been submitted to extensive examination, including x-ray analysis. This reveals early version of certain passages, particularly the figure at the left and two figures on the

The pictures is of five prostitutes but if you look closer you see that each prostitutes is made of three or four other characters such as medical student. I believe Picasso’s is trying illustrated a key point, that each prostitute more than just “prostitutes” but an overall complex point of view illustrated through several different figures and points of view. The different figures and characters within each prostitute represents a piece of their life. The final version underlines different possibilities and opportunities that the prostitutes could have had. The three or four figures within each final version of the prostitution is a representation of their overall point of view about life. Through the different point of view and perspective does the audience develops a clear sense of appreciate and understanding for the overall piece