DIVEST: verb.
1) to rid of clothing or vestment
2) to be released from
The furious mob divested the monster of his loin cloth as they drove him from the village. Thus the good people of Heizelbücher divested themselves of the hideous crimes that had plagued them for so long.
ELEGIAC: adjective
1) expressing sorrow as in an elegy
The mourners sung elegiac songs as the dead King was wheeled finally into his tomb.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Vocab Makes you Brainy
Words are good. There are studies that show that people with superior vocabularies tend to have higher paying jobs, receive more promotions, and be more intelligent and better educated than their peers. I think that this last point is probably the real culprit behind all of this rampant success. If you have an extensive vocabulary it almost goes without saying that you are well-educated (by self or institution) and thus well-read and thus generally more intellectually impressive.
After giving this more thought however I have concluded that there could be a direct connection between superior vocab and superior intellect. I will give you an example of this connection. The other day I learned the word "ennui" (pronounced in a Pennsylvania accent like "on we"). It is a noun, specifically the feeling of restlessness that one gets after being inactive for too long. I have had this feeling many times but did not often discuss it with others or even spend time thinking about it privately. This is because it would take me about 5 words to describe the feeling. I didn't think that it was a human feeling but rather a weird Emma Tipping feeling that I had to somehow personally define. Now I can speak ennui about it with one word. People can more easily understand my meaning. Furthermore, since a word already exists (obviously scavenged from another language, no less) I know that I am not alone in the feeling. Finally, I now have another fixed idea in my mind to work with when I am interpretting the world. With definition comes understanding and with understanding comes expansion.
Now that I have exhausted myself explaining my intentions I will finally explain this post and its little brothers and sisters to follow. When I find an interesting word that clarifies a previously nebulous sensation or that opens up a door to exciting new questions, I will post that word with one or a few definitions. I exigently await your congratulatory approbations and the addition of your own linguistic findings.
After giving this more thought however I have concluded that there could be a direct connection between superior vocab and superior intellect. I will give you an example of this connection. The other day I learned the word "ennui" (pronounced in a Pennsylvania accent like "on we"). It is a noun, specifically the feeling of restlessness that one gets after being inactive for too long. I have had this feeling many times but did not often discuss it with others or even spend time thinking about it privately. This is because it would take me about 5 words to describe the feeling. I didn't think that it was a human feeling but rather a weird Emma Tipping feeling that I had to somehow personally define. Now I can speak ennui about it with one word. People can more easily understand my meaning. Furthermore, since a word already exists (obviously scavenged from another language, no less) I know that I am not alone in the feeling. Finally, I now have another fixed idea in my mind to work with when I am interpretting the world. With definition comes understanding and with understanding comes expansion.
Now that I have exhausted myself explaining my intentions I will finally explain this post and its little brothers and sisters to follow. When I find an interesting word that clarifies a previously nebulous sensation or that opens up a door to exciting new questions, I will post that word with one or a few definitions. I exigently await your congratulatory approbations and the addition of your own linguistic findings.
Picasso in Dimension: Born of an Ancient Synthesis
How the Ancient Greeks revolutionized Iberian sculpture and shaped modern art
May 2007
Today much is made of the lasting impact of Ancient Greece. Mathematics, science, philosophy, our own United States government, all possess undeniable throwbacks to that great civilization. However, in common discourse we do not speak much of how the Ancient Greeks affected other cultures before they settled into the texts of history. A thinking culture and an artistic culture it was but Greece was also a trading culture. The spread of its goods and the reach of its trading posts changed the world forever. Iberia, the ancient name for what is now Spain, was no exception to this and scholars often say that Greece's strongest hold over Iberia was it's sculptural aesthetics. This supposition was corroborated in the early 20th century with the unearthing of several Iberian sculptural artifacts. In their solemn faces the Ancient Greek influences were clear. In the early 1900's these pieces were exhibited in the Louvre where they came to influence many of the time's renowned modern artists. Most notable among them was the burgeoning Pablo Picasso. The purpose of this paper is to describe how the Ancient Greeks came to influence Iberian sculpture and how that Iberian sculpture, centuries later, came to influence one of the most important and well known artists of modern art. In this progression we will witness the potential circularity of history and uncover the historic artistic ties between Spain and Greece.
Ancient Greeks in Ancient Iberia
The first Greeks to establish themselves in Iberia were traders from the polis Phokaea in 600 bce. The Phokaians had heard about Tartessian silver, mined in Tartessos in the south of Spain, from adventurers who had visited the country a few decades earlier. After circumnavigating the Iberian coast the Phokaians established the markets of Tartessos and Emporion and a few other small settlements. The majority of these settlements were used for trading purposes (with the exception of Emporium, according to Bosch-Gimpera, even though it’s name literally means “market place” ) and many would last until the expulsion of the Greeks. The Greeks continued trading in Iberia through the 6th century bce. The many ancient Greek artifacts found in present day Spain evidence this. Various forms of Corinthian ware and Athenian black-figure pottery have been found in Emporium and Greek coins were widely disseminated across the land. Other finds include the Rhodian hydria of Granada, Ibizan terracottas, bronze statues and statuettes, and Greek influenced kraters and tombs, peppering the entire mass of ancient Spain.
Perhaps due to their limited presence in the region, the Carthaginians in the Battle of Alalia easily pushed the majority of Greek settlers out of Iberia in 535 BCE. The defeat of the Greeks eliminated their dominant presence in the peninsula permanently. After 535 BCE evidence of Greek sculpture and pottery in the archeological record decreases substantially. However, Greek vases dating from the fifth to the fourth century bce have been found in tombs in the southern province, Andalusía. Excavations of Aragon in the north- west and Emporium have unearthed Athenian black-figure pottery that dates at least into 530 bce. Emporium was one of the few Greek settlements that survived under Carthaginian rule in Iberia.
The sheer breadth of Greek artifacts from 6th century Iberia serves as testament to the enormous influence that the Greeks had over material culture in that land. The most obvious example of this adaptation is that the Greeks minted the first Iberian coins. Some 6th century relics of these have been discovered on the peninsula with designs of clear classical influence. The greatest Greek contribution to the ancient Spaniards however, is discussed by Mark Williams in his book "The Story of Spain". It was Greek sculpture.
The most famous Iberian statue is the Lady of Elche or La Dama de Elche which was excavated from Osuna, Spain in 1903 and subsequently sent to the Louvre along with a number of other sculptures.
When it was excavated La Dama comprised only the female subject’s head and shoulders. Today it is displayed atop the body of a Cerro de los Santos sculpture, another Iberian artifiact. Bradley describes La Dama as having, “definite Greek characteristics… yet there is nothing in Greece like it- the Lady is distinctly Iberian.” In his article, “Iberian Sculpture”, José Pijoan calls the piece, “a masterpiece, and the only one of Iberian art.” It is easy to understand why Pijoan classifies La Dama in this way. The contrast between it and the others sculptures found with it in Osuna is stark. Consider the simplistic facial features of Lion Attacking a Negro or Head of a Woman. It is possible that the Greek influence was not as strong in such works but we will return to this point later.
The Greek impression upon the makers of La Dama becomes truly evident when it is compared with early Ancient Greek kore figures. Shown are examples of two different kore figures, the first being a bust view and the second being almost a complete figure. The first is useful for comparisons of facial features. Interestingly, between these particular pieces La Dama has the softer features, especially noticeable in the skin covering the area from her eyeball to the bone above it. The front of her nose is also less harshly modeled than that of the kore, which seems to be cut at sharp angles more reminiscent of the harsh featured Female Iberian Head. If there were a continuum towards naturalism to be recognized than it would seem to flow from Female Iberian Head to kore to La Dama. Yet it is the more tangent styles that share an immediate culture and none of the sculptures come near the fantastic naturalism of the Classical Greek sculptures that would follow the kore in history. Almost as if with prescience of the classical style however, both the kore and La Dama have the serene expressions that typified Greek ideas about perfection and balance.
This expression leans more toward the archaic smile in the Greek kore although a comparison of the sculptured females’ attire brings up other interesting similarities. To begin with, both of the women have stylized hair. La Dama’s locks cascade in what looks like beaded tubes. The kore has tendrils of either uniform curls or braids and the rest of her hair is plastered to her head in a similar, impossible uniformity. In addition, both figures are obviously meant to infer wealth, as each is clad in garments of ethereal finery. Both wear a highly detailed headpiece (the hair of the kore acting in part as hers) and are covered to the neck with many layers of clothing or jewelry. The Iberian and Greek artists alike lavished abundant attention on the details of the women’s outfits. The ridges on the beads of La Dama have been included as has the texture of her headpiece. The kore’s drapery is decorated with precisely placed patterns that follow the contours of the cloth as it hangs around her frame.
Comparisons between early Greek kore figures and La Dama de Elche exemplify the Greek influence on Iberian art. This influence was due largely to the enormous presence of trading Greeks and their goods on the peninsula in the 6th century bce. But how far did this influence stretch? Like its Greek counterpart, did Iberian sculpture ever reach a time other than it’s own?
Iberian Sculpture and Picasso
It is the opinion of some art historians and historians that the art of Iberia largely petered out after the Greeks left in 535 bce. While this may or may not be true it is a fact that the influence of Iberian art in the Western world remained undiminished in the 20th century. This is in large part due to the influence that it has had over the globally acclaimed modern artist, Pablo Picasso.
It has long been acknowledged that Picasso derived considerable inspiration from so called “primitive” cultures. Numerous art historians have enumerated examples on this idea, citing the art of Ancient Egypt, Tahiti, and Africa as influences. The ancient art from Picasso’s propio país, or homeland, was no exception. In an interview with Christian Zevros in 1939 Picasso stated that the attribution of his forms to African art in Demoiselles d’Avignon was incorrect and that the real inspiration had come from Iberian sculpture.
There is a minor debate about when Picasso first became acquainted with the dimensional works of his homeland. In his article, “Picasso and Iberian Sculpture”, James Johnson Sweeney dates the occasion to the 1906 Louvre exhibition of the before-mentioned newly excavated sculptures. Stephen Foster disagrees however in his 1979 article, “Picasso’s Sculpture of 1907-8: Some Remarks on its Relation to Earlier and Later Works”. Foster thinks that many other art historians have missed the importance of Picasso’s 1906 trip to Spain, which in fact proceeded the Louvre exhibition, by placing too much importance on the fact that Picasso did not actually begin incorporating the Iberian art making process until after the exhibition. Foster points out that this may have been due to the novelty of the folk style (He refers to the Ancient Iberian sculptural style as “parochial” and “folk”.) and that it was the presence of the sculptures in Paris that finally got Picasso to implement the ideas that had been percolating since his first exposure.
Regardless of the location of first brush the influence of ancient Iberian sculpture permeated the creative minds of Picassso and Paris alike. Another critic and author, Robert S. Lubar, has written an entire essay about how Picasso’s psychological atmosphere at the time changed how he ultimately handled his Portrait of Gertrude Stein (the execution of which, from 1905 to 1906, encompassed the Louvre exhibition and Picasso’s trip to Spain), and Sweeney notes that the Iberian sculptures caused considerable foment within the entire Parisian art community. Many historians such as Ron Johnson take the time to compare Picasso’s sculpture around 1906 with that of Gaugin, another important artists who was experimenting with primitivism. Reflective of his own search for a new mode of expression, Picasso is quoted as saying,
What touches me in the art of antiquity is the sheer beauty of its restraint, but I must confess to disappointment at that way the proportions of Greek sculpture are dislocated by rhythms that are too mechanical.
In this quote the intoxicant that reeled Picasso into his Iberian love affair is laid bare. It is interesting furthermore that the polished art of Classical Greece was too formulaic for him. Having been influenced by more rudimentary Greek sculpture the Iberian pieces in the Louvre were probably the exact fusion of simplicity and “restraint” to hook the searching young artist.
There is evidence of this in the aspects of the Iberian style that Picasso took for himself. One clear example is his dramatically simplified rendering of eyes although it would be premature to explain that aspect now. The degree to which Picasso adapted his work to borrow from the Iberian art fluctuates chronologically and it is best studied in that manner. It is apparent that his utilized idiom shifted from 1905 to 1907. Beginning in 1906, the year of the trip to Spain and the Louvre exhibition, Picasso started producing work with a definite primitive edge that is manifest in both his sculptures and his paintings.
To begin with there is the painting Boy Leading a Horse (1906). Comparisons have been made between this figure and koros figures. While the level of naturalism is not equivalent to the sculpture of Classical Greece either, it does have the naturalistic hints that the koros maintained. For example, the proportions of both the boy and the horse are appropriate, perhaps with the exception of the boy’s squat ankles. Both figures have serene expressions and body language and the composition is full of believable organic curves. Note also these similar qualities of serenity, believable proportions, and believable line quality in The Saltimbanques, 1905, and the bronze sculpture Jester, also made in 1905.
Now consider Picasso’s 1906 sculpture, Head of a Woman, in tandem with the Iberian sculpture, Female Iberian Head. Both are relatively flat, Picasso’s because it is in relief and Iberian Head because the nose has been broken off. Note however, the eyes that dominate the face in their large size and almond shape. Note also how, in comparison to Jester, the masses of Picasso’s sculpture are built only slightly to indicate volume, creating a feeling that the metal has actually been carved into. The Iberian stone sculpture Negro Attacked by a Lion has the same incised and enormous eyes repeated again in 2-D in Picasso’s Woman Seated and Woman Standing, 1906.
The second piece also demonstrates the squat proportions that many art historians have cited as evidence of Picasso’s move towards primitivism. I have not been able to find any visual examples of this in Iberian art and it is possible that it is borrowed from a different culture. It could be argued, however, that the bodies are distorted in proportion partly in response to the distortion of the face. In Woman Seated and Woman Standing the head is disproportionately large and the breasts are disproportionately high and round. This is a logical progression to follow enormous eyes. The eyes are typically considered the most important part of the face, which is considered to be the most important and recognizable feature of the body. Thus it makes sense that the head upon which the face is should be bigger, although it is interesting that the face is not disproportionately large upon the head in this drawing. In regards to the high breasts, they are the part that readily typifies women in visual culture. As they are the next most interesting feature below the face they are probably thought of as right beneath it when in fact they are closer to midway between the chin and the belly button. Breasts are also thought of as round, a characteristic that is overemphasized here. All in all, the concentration on the eyes, the head, the breasts, and their geometric shape are all misinterpretations that untrained artists or people in general make because they see with their minds and memories instead of with their eyes. It is obvious from his previous work that Picasso is a trained artist. It is therefore possible that he was using the large eyes and simplified forms of Iberian and other primitive art as a starting point to interpret forms in a personally new style.
Finally we will look at Portrait of Gertrude Stein, a painting that seems to encapsulate Picasso’s entire transition (temporary though it was) from the idiom of Boy Leading a Horse to Head of a Woman and Woman Seated and Woman Standing. In his article, Sweeney recounts the interesting story told by Stein in her own autobiography about her portrait. She said that during its first phases from late 1905 into early 1906 Picasso actually finished the painting. The work from this first phase is all that still remains with the exception of the face. This is because in 1906 Stein and Picasso went on simultaneous vacations to, respectively, Italy and Spain. According to Stein, the day that Picasso returned from Spain he redrew the entire face from memory. The face has a definite mask-like quality that is most obvious in the eyes. Sweeney adds that the painting was originally in the style of the portrait that Picasso had done of Allan Stein, which bears resemblance to Boy Leading a Horse in its softer and more realistic treatment. The transition is obvious. Whether or not Picasso continued in this new primitive inspired vein is another matter of contention but Iberian art was definitely an influence, if only for a brief time…
The rest of this essay is unfortunately missing in digital form. It will be finished when I next journey to Pennsylvania and excavate the paper copy from my college notebooks!
TO BE CONTINUED…
May 2007
Today much is made of the lasting impact of Ancient Greece. Mathematics, science, philosophy, our own United States government, all possess undeniable throwbacks to that great civilization. However, in common discourse we do not speak much of how the Ancient Greeks affected other cultures before they settled into the texts of history. A thinking culture and an artistic culture it was but Greece was also a trading culture. The spread of its goods and the reach of its trading posts changed the world forever. Iberia, the ancient name for what is now Spain, was no exception to this and scholars often say that Greece's strongest hold over Iberia was it's sculptural aesthetics. This supposition was corroborated in the early 20th century with the unearthing of several Iberian sculptural artifacts. In their solemn faces the Ancient Greek influences were clear. In the early 1900's these pieces were exhibited in the Louvre where they came to influence many of the time's renowned modern artists. Most notable among them was the burgeoning Pablo Picasso. The purpose of this paper is to describe how the Ancient Greeks came to influence Iberian sculpture and how that Iberian sculpture, centuries later, came to influence one of the most important and well known artists of modern art. In this progression we will witness the potential circularity of history and uncover the historic artistic ties between Spain and Greece.
Ancient Greeks in Ancient Iberia
The first Greeks to establish themselves in Iberia were traders from the polis Phokaea in 600 bce. The Phokaians had heard about Tartessian silver, mined in Tartessos in the south of Spain, from adventurers who had visited the country a few decades earlier. After circumnavigating the Iberian coast the Phokaians established the markets of Tartessos and Emporion and a few other small settlements. The majority of these settlements were used for trading purposes (with the exception of Emporium, according to Bosch-Gimpera, even though it’s name literally means “market place” ) and many would last until the expulsion of the Greeks. The Greeks continued trading in Iberia through the 6th century bce. The many ancient Greek artifacts found in present day Spain evidence this. Various forms of Corinthian ware and Athenian black-figure pottery have been found in Emporium and Greek coins were widely disseminated across the land. Other finds include the Rhodian hydria of Granada, Ibizan terracottas, bronze statues and statuettes, and Greek influenced kraters and tombs, peppering the entire mass of ancient Spain.
Perhaps due to their limited presence in the region, the Carthaginians in the Battle of Alalia easily pushed the majority of Greek settlers out of Iberia in 535 BCE. The defeat of the Greeks eliminated their dominant presence in the peninsula permanently. After 535 BCE evidence of Greek sculpture and pottery in the archeological record decreases substantially. However, Greek vases dating from the fifth to the fourth century bce have been found in tombs in the southern province, Andalusía. Excavations of Aragon in the north- west and Emporium have unearthed Athenian black-figure pottery that dates at least into 530 bce. Emporium was one of the few Greek settlements that survived under Carthaginian rule in Iberia.
The sheer breadth of Greek artifacts from 6th century Iberia serves as testament to the enormous influence that the Greeks had over material culture in that land. The most obvious example of this adaptation is that the Greeks minted the first Iberian coins. Some 6th century relics of these have been discovered on the peninsula with designs of clear classical influence. The greatest Greek contribution to the ancient Spaniards however, is discussed by Mark Williams in his book "The Story of Spain". It was Greek sculpture.
The most famous Iberian statue is the Lady of Elche or La Dama de Elche which was excavated from Osuna, Spain in 1903 and subsequently sent to the Louvre along with a number of other sculptures.
When it was excavated La Dama comprised only the female subject’s head and shoulders. Today it is displayed atop the body of a Cerro de los Santos sculpture, another Iberian artifiact. Bradley describes La Dama as having, “definite Greek characteristics… yet there is nothing in Greece like it- the Lady is distinctly Iberian.” In his article, “Iberian Sculpture”, José Pijoan calls the piece, “a masterpiece, and the only one of Iberian art.” It is easy to understand why Pijoan classifies La Dama in this way. The contrast between it and the others sculptures found with it in Osuna is stark. Consider the simplistic facial features of Lion Attacking a Negro or Head of a Woman. It is possible that the Greek influence was not as strong in such works but we will return to this point later.The Greek impression upon the makers of La Dama becomes truly evident when it is compared with early Ancient Greek kore figures. Shown are examples of two different kore figures, the first being a bust view and the second being almost a complete figure. The first is useful for comparisons of facial features. Interestingly, between these particular pieces La Dama has the softer features, especially noticeable in the skin covering the area from her eyeball to the bone above it. The front of her nose is also less harshly modeled than that of the kore, which seems to be cut at sharp angles more reminiscent of the harsh featured Female Iberian Head. If there were a continuum towards naturalism to be recognized than it would seem to flow from Female Iberian Head to kore to La Dama. Yet it is the more tangent styles that share an immediate culture and none of the sculptures come near the fantastic naturalism of the Classical Greek sculptures that would follow the kore in history. Almost as if with prescience of the classical style however, both the kore and La Dama have the serene expressions that typified Greek ideas about perfection and balance.
This expression leans more toward the archaic smile in the Greek kore although a comparison of the sculptured females’ attire brings up other interesting similarities. To begin with, both of the women have stylized hair. La Dama’s locks cascade in what looks like beaded tubes. The kore has tendrils of either uniform curls or braids and the rest of her hair is plastered to her head in a similar, impossible uniformity. In addition, both figures are obviously meant to infer wealth, as each is clad in garments of ethereal finery. Both wear a highly detailed headpiece (the hair of the kore acting in part as hers) and are covered to the neck with many layers of clothing or jewelry. The Iberian and Greek artists alike lavished abundant attention on the details of the women’s outfits. The ridges on the beads of La Dama have been included as has the texture of her headpiece. The kore’s drapery is decorated with precisely placed patterns that follow the contours of the cloth as it hangs around her frame.
Comparisons between early Greek kore figures and La Dama de Elche exemplify the Greek influence on Iberian art. This influence was due largely to the enormous presence of trading Greeks and their goods on the peninsula in the 6th century bce. But how far did this influence stretch? Like its Greek counterpart, did Iberian sculpture ever reach a time other than it’s own?
Iberian Sculpture and Picasso
It is the opinion of some art historians and historians that the art of Iberia largely petered out after the Greeks left in 535 bce. While this may or may not be true it is a fact that the influence of Iberian art in the Western world remained undiminished in the 20th century. This is in large part due to the influence that it has had over the globally acclaimed modern artist, Pablo Picasso.
It has long been acknowledged that Picasso derived considerable inspiration from so called “primitive” cultures. Numerous art historians have enumerated examples on this idea, citing the art of Ancient Egypt, Tahiti, and Africa as influences. The ancient art from Picasso’s propio país, or homeland, was no exception. In an interview with Christian Zevros in 1939 Picasso stated that the attribution of his forms to African art in Demoiselles d’Avignon was incorrect and that the real inspiration had come from Iberian sculpture.
There is a minor debate about when Picasso first became acquainted with the dimensional works of his homeland. In his article, “Picasso and Iberian Sculpture”, James Johnson Sweeney dates the occasion to the 1906 Louvre exhibition of the before-mentioned newly excavated sculptures. Stephen Foster disagrees however in his 1979 article, “Picasso’s Sculpture of 1907-8: Some Remarks on its Relation to Earlier and Later Works”. Foster thinks that many other art historians have missed the importance of Picasso’s 1906 trip to Spain, which in fact proceeded the Louvre exhibition, by placing too much importance on the fact that Picasso did not actually begin incorporating the Iberian art making process until after the exhibition. Foster points out that this may have been due to the novelty of the folk style (He refers to the Ancient Iberian sculptural style as “parochial” and “folk”.) and that it was the presence of the sculptures in Paris that finally got Picasso to implement the ideas that had been percolating since his first exposure.
Regardless of the location of first brush the influence of ancient Iberian sculpture permeated the creative minds of Picassso and Paris alike. Another critic and author, Robert S. Lubar, has written an entire essay about how Picasso’s psychological atmosphere at the time changed how he ultimately handled his Portrait of Gertrude Stein (the execution of which, from 1905 to 1906, encompassed the Louvre exhibition and Picasso’s trip to Spain), and Sweeney notes that the Iberian sculptures caused considerable foment within the entire Parisian art community. Many historians such as Ron Johnson take the time to compare Picasso’s sculpture around 1906 with that of Gaugin, another important artists who was experimenting with primitivism. Reflective of his own search for a new mode of expression, Picasso is quoted as saying,
What touches me in the art of antiquity is the sheer beauty of its restraint, but I must confess to disappointment at that way the proportions of Greek sculpture are dislocated by rhythms that are too mechanical.
In this quote the intoxicant that reeled Picasso into his Iberian love affair is laid bare. It is interesting furthermore that the polished art of Classical Greece was too formulaic for him. Having been influenced by more rudimentary Greek sculpture the Iberian pieces in the Louvre were probably the exact fusion of simplicity and “restraint” to hook the searching young artist.
There is evidence of this in the aspects of the Iberian style that Picasso took for himself. One clear example is his dramatically simplified rendering of eyes although it would be premature to explain that aspect now. The degree to which Picasso adapted his work to borrow from the Iberian art fluctuates chronologically and it is best studied in that manner. It is apparent that his utilized idiom shifted from 1905 to 1907. Beginning in 1906, the year of the trip to Spain and the Louvre exhibition, Picasso started producing work with a definite primitive edge that is manifest in both his sculptures and his paintings.
To begin with there is the painting Boy Leading a Horse (1906). Comparisons have been made between this figure and koros figures. While the level of naturalism is not equivalent to the sculpture of Classical Greece either, it does have the naturalistic hints that the koros maintained. For example, the proportions of both the boy and the horse are appropriate, perhaps with the exception of the boy’s squat ankles. Both figures have serene expressions and body language and the composition is full of believable organic curves. Note also these similar qualities of serenity, believable proportions, and believable line quality in The Saltimbanques, 1905, and the bronze sculpture Jester, also made in 1905.
Now consider Picasso’s 1906 sculpture, Head of a Woman, in tandem with the Iberian sculpture, Female Iberian Head. Both are relatively flat, Picasso’s because it is in relief and Iberian Head because the nose has been broken off. Note however, the eyes that dominate the face in their large size and almond shape. Note also how, in comparison to Jester, the masses of Picasso’s sculpture are built only slightly to indicate volume, creating a feeling that the metal has actually been carved into. The Iberian stone sculpture Negro Attacked by a Lion has the same incised and enormous eyes repeated again in 2-D in Picasso’s Woman Seated and Woman Standing, 1906.
The second piece also demonstrates the squat proportions that many art historians have cited as evidence of Picasso’s move towards primitivism. I have not been able to find any visual examples of this in Iberian art and it is possible that it is borrowed from a different culture. It could be argued, however, that the bodies are distorted in proportion partly in response to the distortion of the face. In Woman Seated and Woman Standing the head is disproportionately large and the breasts are disproportionately high and round. This is a logical progression to follow enormous eyes. The eyes are typically considered the most important part of the face, which is considered to be the most important and recognizable feature of the body. Thus it makes sense that the head upon which the face is should be bigger, although it is interesting that the face is not disproportionately large upon the head in this drawing. In regards to the high breasts, they are the part that readily typifies women in visual culture. As they are the next most interesting feature below the face they are probably thought of as right beneath it when in fact they are closer to midway between the chin and the belly button. Breasts are also thought of as round, a characteristic that is overemphasized here. All in all, the concentration on the eyes, the head, the breasts, and their geometric shape are all misinterpretations that untrained artists or people in general make because they see with their minds and memories instead of with their eyes. It is obvious from his previous work that Picasso is a trained artist. It is therefore possible that he was using the large eyes and simplified forms of Iberian and other primitive art as a starting point to interpret forms in a personally new style.
Finally we will look at Portrait of Gertrude Stein, a painting that seems to encapsulate Picasso’s entire transition (temporary though it was) from the idiom of Boy Leading a Horse to Head of a Woman and Woman Seated and Woman Standing. In his article, Sweeney recounts the interesting story told by Stein in her own autobiography about her portrait. She said that during its first phases from late 1905 into early 1906 Picasso actually finished the painting. The work from this first phase is all that still remains with the exception of the face. This is because in 1906 Stein and Picasso went on simultaneous vacations to, respectively, Italy and Spain. According to Stein, the day that Picasso returned from Spain he redrew the entire face from memory. The face has a definite mask-like quality that is most obvious in the eyes. Sweeney adds that the painting was originally in the style of the portrait that Picasso had done of Allan Stein, which bears resemblance to Boy Leading a Horse in its softer and more realistic treatment. The transition is obvious. Whether or not Picasso continued in this new primitive inspired vein is another matter of contention but Iberian art was definitely an influence, if only for a brief time…
The rest of this essay is unfortunately missing in digital form. It will be finished when I next journey to Pennsylvania and excavate the paper copy from my college notebooks!
TO BE CONTINUED…
The "Poipose" of this Digital Tome
Dearest onlookers, well-wishers, and binary surfers,
Tipping the Scales has a purpose. I do not think of myself as a "blogger" (although I guess that I technically am now just that) and do not expect that I will be publishing regular postings fashioned specifically for the blog world. This is simply a place where I will be posting various essays and short non-fiction works so that others may easily become acquainted with my ideas and trajectory. Nevertheless I hope that Tipping the Scales will experience plenty of two-way traffic. I am excited to hear all of your positive, negative, and neutral reactions to any writings included here, any remarks that you may have heard me make under my breathe, and general ideas about the workings of this crazily spinning world.
Yours in the glowing blue screen,
Emma T.
Tipping the Scales has a purpose. I do not think of myself as a "blogger" (although I guess that I technically am now just that) and do not expect that I will be publishing regular postings fashioned specifically for the blog world. This is simply a place where I will be posting various essays and short non-fiction works so that others may easily become acquainted with my ideas and trajectory. Nevertheless I hope that Tipping the Scales will experience plenty of two-way traffic. I am excited to hear all of your positive, negative, and neutral reactions to any writings included here, any remarks that you may have heard me make under my breathe, and general ideas about the workings of this crazily spinning world.
Yours in the glowing blue screen,
Emma T.
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