The Influence of Edger Allan Poe and Pablo Picasso on Society - Term Paper Example

The 20th century was marked by an era of growth and progress in the world of literature and the arts. Two of its finest and most iconic figures are Edgar Allan Poe and Pablo Picasso. What kind of influence did these two men leave as their legacies for the 20th century? Edgar Allan Poe introduced new genres in literature and became the inspiration for future writers such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He also holds the distinction of being the first person to ever make a living through writing alone. Pablo Picasso was one of the foremost Cubism pioneers whose works of art conveyed the inner thoughts and emotions of the artist. He also helped launch art that came to be known as collage alongside the Symbolism and Surrealism school of thought in modern art. The Life Events of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe is considered to be one of the most prolific and trend setting literary writers of the 20th century. His writing often reflected the many struggles he had to undergo in his life and his stories delved deep into the psyche of his characters. Thus creating whole new genres of writing and character development in the process. Keeping in mind all that we know about this tragic writers life and accomplishments, the one question that remains to be answered is, “What were Edgar Allan Poes contributions to modern 20th century literature?” From the time his father abandoned him a year after his birth, to the death of his mother a year later. Edgar seems to have been hounded by tragedy for most of his life. It was perhaps this trauma that caused him to have such a confused young adult life under the guardianship of his godfather. The one constant in his life seemed to be literature and his ability to write excellent poetic and short narrative pieces. A skill which he used to help sustain his lifestyle. He was the first man to ever use writing as a regular source of income. In order to understand the intricate and tragic life of this prolific writer, we must first look into the past events of his life that led up to the highlights of his writing career. Edgar Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died. It seems that Poe, who was struck by these tragedies at such a young age, was dealing with the repercussions of death even before he had the ability to understand what death meant. He was taken in by his godfather, the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. His brother went to live with their grandparents while his sister was taken in by her own godparents. Poe was never officially adopted by the Allans even though he had adopted their last name as his second name during his baptism. A situation which caused him great distress during his young adult years and led to a tumultous relationship between himself and his godfather ("Edgar Allan Poe", n.d.). In 1826 Poes godfather enrolled him at the University of Virginia where he continued his studies in the classics. However, Edgar proved to be a rebellious godson who amassed gambling debts and was unable to pay his bills. After Mr. Allan pulled out his financial support from the young Edgar, the lad found himself a soldier in the Army. He later on applied for admission to Westpoint where he was admitted only to have him dropout after receiving word that his godfather had remarried. Poe was first published under the pen name "The Bostonian" in 1827. The literary work was a byronic book of poems titled "Tamerlane and Other Poems", its sequel was published under his new pen name of Edgar Allan Poe in 1829 under the title "Tamerlane and Minor Poems". Influenced by the likes of Keats, Shelley, and Coleridge, Edgar moved to New York City and published a volume entitled "Poems". (Bio: Edgar Allan Poe, 2011). It was upon his return to Baltimore that he earned his first ever income for a literary piece. A $50 prize from the Baltimore Weekly for his literary piece MS. Found in a Bottle. This led to a career as the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger and a host of other literary achievements on his part. His prolific career came to an abrupt end when he died of mysterious circumstances on October 7,1849 However known for his literary stories Edgar Allan Poe will always be remembered in the literary circles of the present and future as the man who introduced the genre of horror and mystery thrillers to the literary world. His most memorable works from those particular genres include "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart". (Martens, 2012). That is despite the fact that most of his earlier works were comedic and satirical in nature. The Life Events of Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso was born into a family that highly valued education. His father was a major proponent of the arts at the time and was more than just a painter. He was also a museum curator, art director, and teacher of the arts. It was this love of the arts that he was able to impart to his son Pablo. Their relationship as mentor to student was one filled with friction and discord due to the immense talent of Pablo. Lets look back into the life history of the man known as Pablo Picasso, and what he was able to contribute to the 20th century society. Born in Malaga, Spain, Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Neponuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso joined the world on October 25, 1881, the man who became world reknowned simply as Pablo Picasso had a connection to the arts at an early age. With his first words being "piz, piz" which is the shortened form of the Spanish word lapis meaning pencil, he received his informat art training at the hands of his father. Don Jose Ruiz y Blasco. His was a middle class upbringing with his father drilling him in the natuarlistic depiction of animals in paintings. As a professor of art at the School of Crafts and a curator of a local museum, the family were considered to be members of the minor aristocracy of Spain ("Pablo Picasso", 2012). At the age of 13 the young Picasso was had such a precision and painting that far surpassed his father that Don Jose, upon seeing him painting over an unfinished sketch of a pigeon, decided to stop painting himself because his son had finally surpassed his own talent. This knowledge drove the father to fight for his sons admittance into the Barcelona School of Fine Arts where he was then a member of the faculty. Though it normally took applicants one month to complete the tests, the talented Pablo breeze through all the elements within a week. He so impressed the judges that he was admitted as a student at the school. However, at the age of 16, his father decided that he should continue his further training at the Royal Academy of San Fernando. Picasso, who already had a dislike for academic training eventually dropped out of his classes but was soon attracted by the artistic world that the area of Spain presented in the form of artworks by the masters Diego Velasquez, Francisco Goya, and Francisco Zurbaran. He most specially admired El Greco whose influence can be seen in the way that Picasso painted using elongated limbs, arresting colors, and mystical visages. ("Pablo Picasso", 2012) Pablo Picasso is most often referred to in the art circles as the "Father of Modern Art" because of his forward thinking and cutting edge paintings and drawings. By 1906, he was on his way towards using the disrupted perspective in his paintings that his followers came to know as Cubism. As a painter this daring move on Picassos part led to "revolutionizing attitudes to the depiction of form in space " (The Art Story.org: Pablo Picasso", 2012). It is said that Picasso had at least 3 eras of his life represented in his art work. Starting with his so-called Blue Period in the 1900s, he used mostly the blue and gray color palette for most of his art work in a melancholic depiction of life as he saw it. This was then followed by his Rose Period in 1904 when he began using brighter colors in his paintings of circus performers using various shades of red and pink. The most popular art era of Picasso is said to be his Cubism era in 1906. This was a time when he was influenced by George Braque and "his palette darkened, his forms became heavier and more solid in aspect" (The Art Story.org: Pablo Picasso", 2012). Picasso disliked the label of Cubism being attached to his later art work as critics began to separate his works by calling them either Analytic and Synthetic. He preferred to see his work as a contuing experience instead. By 1920, he was already dabbling in collages and in the mid 1920s he encountered surrealism and totally changed the direction of his art work. His art now had a sense of violent or erotic expression about it. After marrying Jacqueline Rogue in 1961, he began to turn to portraits that used what one might consider to be garish color hues that were quite difficult to look at. Art experts view this particular artistic expression of Picasso as his worst era ever. Calling these portraits far inferior to his earlier works. After spending some time as a sculptor during the final years of his life, Picasso died in the south of France in 1973. ("Picassos Influence on American Artists", 2012). Pablo Picasso exercised the most influence over later 20th century modern pop artists who tried to emulate his style in what became known as the "Pop Art" of the era. Painters such as Warhol, Lichstenstein, Jasper Johns, and others all tried their hand at creating their own art pieces in the mold of a Picasso. Most of them did so with some success and helped cement the idea of Picasso as the father of modern art during the time. Of all of these men however, it is believed that Jackson Pollock was the only one to come as close as one possibly could to emulating the Pablos Picasso style of artwork on canvass. (""Picassos Influence on American Artists", 2012). The Influence of Edgar Allan Poe and Pablo Picasson on Modern 20th Century Edgar Allan Poe and Pablo Picasso are two of the most notable historical figures that helped shaped the way society viewed literature and modern art in the 20th century. Although the men came from highly different backgrounds, they are bonded together in a way that nobody could have imagined at the time. In order to understand this bond, we must first delve into each of background of each man and discover what it was that made them so vital to the shaping of the public psyche in the 20th century. Poe was able to define a totally new genre in fiction writing thanks to his short stories covering the macabre. He also lay the foundation for what we now know as the Science Fiction Genre based upon his novels that delved in the science of Cryptography, Physics, and Cosmology. These breakthrough stories that he wrote based upon those sciences made him known in the literary circles as the father of the detective stories as well. His struggles as a budding writer continues to be the inspiration for all other modern authors who have yet to get their work published and yet refuse to do anything else for a living. His dedication to his craft and the determination to succeed in creating his fortune solely based on his written work is one of inspiration and worthy of emulation. Though he struggled for most his life, his literary work never suffered. Having had a hand in the establishment of the horror genre, he made it possible for other writers to learn that great stories need not be epic in length. His short stories opened a new avenue for creative story telling using a limited number of pages. Edgar Allan Poes influence over the literary world went far beyond the American borders where he was born. He continues to be a driving influence for European writers who are familiar with his work thanks to translations done by Charles Baudelaire of his stories and poetry. He was actually the first American writer to become more popular in Europe rather than in his home country. In our modern times, those who try to emulate Poes style of writing are given recognitions through the “Edgars” award which is given out by the Mystery Writers of America. As for Pablo Picasso and his influence in the 20th - 21st century, Art Market Trend reports that for the year 2004, Pablo Picasso continues to be the top ranked artist of the 21st century. There are currently 550 of his works listed as missing by the Art Loss Register. His art work continues to be administered by his estate and public exhibitions of his paintings and sculptures are scheduled throughout the current year. His influence on the American painting scene still lives on as modern painters continue to advocate his cubism style of painting and the collage method of depicting life in art exhibits around the world continue to gain notice. Pablo Picassos art continues to live on in the works of Arshile Gorky, Lee Krasner, David Smith, and others. Conclusion Edgar Allan Poe and Pablo Picasso helped to define the events and accomplishments that the 20th century would come to be known for. Their influence on in our society, literature, science, and way of life is unmistakable and shall continue to live on for as long as there are those who continue to advocate their life works. They are 2 of the most important men who made the 20th century the turning point of our civilization. Together, they ushered in new schools of thought which helped develop the imagination and complex thinking style that men continue to practice. They have in their own way, helped our civilization evolve into a continuing higher form of society. References N.A.(2012). Edgar Allan Poe. Bio true story. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/edgar- allan-poe-9443160 Edgar Allan Poe. (n.d.) In Dictionary of Literary Biography. Retrieved from http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/poebio.html#MainEssaySection Johnson, Caitlin. (9 May 2009). Picassos influence on American artists. CBS Sunday Morning. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/18/sunday/main2371451.shtml Martens, Rachel. (2012). Theres more to Edgar Allan Poe than you know. postcrescent.com. Retrieved from http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120119/APC06/201190394/Rachel-Martens-column- There-s-more-Edgar-Allen-Poe-than-you-know?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s N.A. (2011). Pablo Picasso. The Art story.org. Retrieved from http://www.theartstory.org/artist-picasso- pablo.htm Pablo Picasso. (n.d). in Wikipedia. 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