History of Demoiselles - Assignment Example

Chave in his histography brings out several critics and artists, some of this includes Gitto a painter, Ander Breton a famous poet, Leo Steinberg, Baudelaire, Christine Poggi, and Lisa Saltzman among other critiques. The author then creates an interesting read with the objective to show that the Demoiselles were to some extent neglected until scholars started appreciating its value.

Question 2

 The author in his sentiments expresses that the painting's presence of masks is one of “mimicry” and “minstrelsy. What this means is that the masks allow for free expression as well as a source of joy. He argues that the masks allow the women behind them to express themselves without fearing the loss of their own dignity.

Question 3

The author interprets Demoiselle’s African masks differently from other critics. He views them as offensive and at the same time attractive, the attraction is not because of the pictorial effect, but for the clients that source the service of these pictured women.  Cave however, disputes the notion that the unmasked faces of the three figures on the left side of the picture are not “syphilitic monsters” This is because African masks are viewed as repellents. Those masked he views them as ridden with plaque while the unmasked as very healthy.

Question 4

Over the last decade, the Les Demoiselles has been stated to evoke fearsome and awful “prototypical” reactions amongst men who view and experience its nature. This is due to its design of cubism and caricature.

Question 5

Walter Benjamin observes that the emergence of prostitution is a modern phenomenon expressed through Picasso's paintings. And with this modernity prostitution and the trade of sex increase.  The sex he says has been commoditized in utter disregard to the very important tenets of love.

Question 6

The disjunctive state of the Les Demoiselles made it receive less consideration for public display. This disjunctive state left historians debating on whether the art was actually finished or not. The author of this article uses previous critiques to bring up the issues of race and class, citing that race and class differentiate art by le demoiselles and Olympus.

Question 7

The author sees the feminist methodology of cubism as shallow. This is because the cubist space has been for a long time identified with one gender; the female gender.

Question 8

Chave then explains that the flattening of pictorial space is but a modernist phenomenon. Clements on the other hand, sees it as a result of the consolidation of the means of unique art. Under Steinberg's eye, viewing Picasso’s Les Demoiselles, he sees the interior space of the art in compression, like the inside of compressed bellows. He describes the feeling as one of an inhabited pocket heated by a contracting sheath of human presence.

Question 9

Bois explains le demoiselle’s production as the best account for one intending the act of coitus in the mind of a heterosexual human being. From the expressions of Bois and Steinberg, the author concludes that the paintings here are not sickly, but finds them too patronizing for any straight woman.

Question 10

Picasso’s as highlighted by the author has a “declared” enmity against women and a subsequent enmity towards people of color.  

Question 11

The author also presents a colonial interpretation of the Les Demoiselles. He states that the black mask indicates the fear of invasion by outsiders. And for this reason a source of enmity between the Americans and the blacks who were viewed as slaves. Picasso’s vision seems to differ from Mattie's.  Mattice contemplated a place in France refashioned to appear as white as the North of Africa on the other hand and Picasso envisioned a new place far from Europe, citing a place full of danger and masculinity.

Question 12

The crouching figure in the lower right quadrant shows artistan ic decisions with ithe ntent to tease the observer as well as preserve the taboo areas of a woman. On this basis, the effect of the mask to conceal the face of a woman allows her to express herself in beauty, lifting her ego as well.

Question 13

Scholars suggest that the figures represented by the African masks symbolize femme fatality due to the subjugated state of the black woman especially during the time of the painting. A black woman was seen to be very submissive, as a result of years of slavery under their masters; this submissiveness was seen as having an arousing effect evoking sexual desire    

Question 14

Cubism shows a tremendous retreat as expressed by the author.  The reason for this retreat is as a direct consequence of the origin of Picasso and the subsequent woman he interacts with.

Question 15

The   caricature presence in the art of the Les Demoiselles is very inspiring ;the author says. This is due to the ability of the  painting to enthuse calculative insight and design. The presentation is in such a way to conserve yet expose the desires of many men. It is for this reason that Felix and Chave agree that the Les Demoiselles contains elements of caricature.