Picasso 1932-1935 the Renowned Art

Picasso 1932-1935

The renowned art critic Hebert Read characterizes this period in Picasso's life as a period of intense creativity and psychological change and growth. It is also seen a period of soul-searching and a change in style, which is characterized by portraits and paintings of archetypal female images. Read states that these archetypes and the style of this time were preceded by paintings such as Woman in an Arm-chair (1929) and the Standing Bather and Seated Bather of 1929. This style, according to Read, was to continue throughout the rest of Picasso's career. (Read 149/150)

It is often difficult to determine why an artist develops a certain style or why new trends appear in his or her work. Importantly in this regard, Read also points out that we cannot make discrete categorizations of the artist's work or demarcate strict areas and concerns. " Such a chronological sequence has about as much value as a guide to a jungle." (Read 150) Rather the artist's work can be seen in terms of certain dominant trends. Therefore we should also take cognizance of the various influences in his life in analyzing a work of art. This relates to the time period under discussion and the influence of the women in Picasso's life - particularly his relationship with Marie-Therese Walter

One aspect that should that should also be mentioned in order to understand Picasso's life and work during these years is that, in terms of his paintings, Picasso perceived nature and life in the following way. " I don't want to work after nature. But before nature..." (Read 152) Therefore, this implies that Picasso was not interested in copying or representing nature but in exploring nature and the human form from a much deeper and more radical perspective.

This also relates to this relationship with Matisse and the comparison between these two artists that will de discussed in this paper. Furthermore this aspect refers, as Read states, to an intuitive perception and understanding of symbolic forms. It is this desire to create symbolic forms which are not imitative of nature but are an intimately expressive of nature which is, according to many critics, one of the central characteristics of this period of his work. This view is especially applicable to the paintings that Picasso created of women during this time and can also be related to his relationship with Marie-Therese Walter.

2. Marie-Therese Walter.

Picasso was married to Olga Koklova In 1918, and the couple had a son, Paolo, in 1921.

By the end of the decade the marriage had begun to fail and Picasso began a liaison with Marie-Therese Walter, who was seventeen years old. This relationship was also to produce a child, Maya. However by 1935 Picasso left Walter for the more stimulating and intellectually mature Dora Maar. During the period under discussion therefore it is obvious that the varied relationships with often very different women should become an integral influence on his work.

Picasso was to meet Walter in January of 1927. She became close to the family and was also a nurse to the Olga and Picasso's son, Paulo. (Pablo Picasso: 1881-1973) Olga was unaware of the relationship that was developing between Picasso and Walter and Marie-Therese was to become a model and an inspiration for Picasso's painting. An interesting anecdote shows how the artistic interest interweaved with the romantic interest that Picasso had in Marie-Therese Walter." The way in which Picasso made friends with Walter in 1927 was when he said to her: "Mademoiselle, you've got an interesting face. I'd like to paint your portrait. I am Picasso." (Picasso Genius of the century by Ingo F. Walther, pg 58)

However, when Walter became pregnant with Picasso's child, Olga found out about the liaison and their relationship came to an end. Olga and Picasso never divorced. Picasso remained with Walter until he fell in love with Dora Mar.

Walter was to serve as a model for some of Picasso's most creative works during this period. However in order to understand the work of these years one also has to bear in mind the complex influence of the other relationships in his life. Picasso was emerging from his neoclassical phase in which his paintings had been more serene and calm. It has been suggested that his relationship with Walter and the emotional tension that resulted for his separation from his wife, resulted in paintings during this period that were filled with trauma and even despair.

Therefore the influence of his personal relationship, as has been suggested by among others T. Walther (1986) had a significant impact on his style and subject matter. This change in tone and style can be seen to have its beginnings with paintings like The Three Dancers (Tate Gallery, London, 1925) which was painted at a time when Picasso's marriage to Olga was leading to frustration and unhappiness in his life. The figures in this painting are life-size and are "...aggressively distorted in a savage parody of classical ballet." (Chilvers 476) This suggests that the relationship that Picasso had with women in his life affected and changed his work.

3. Matisse

The relationship between Matisse and Picasso is often characterized as a kind of friendly rivalry. There is no doubt that the two artists respected one another as artists. However they were in essence two very different types of individuals with very different approaches to the concept of modern art. If one can generalize, Matisse can be seen as a more conventional artist and more interested in maintaining an ordered relationship with nature and the world; while Picasso was more progressive and was rather concerned with dissecting and reinterpreting nature according to a new vision. Yet there were also many points of similarities between the two painters. These can also be seen to some extent in the works that Picasso produced in the years between 1932 and 1935.

Matisse and Picasso first met during an exhibition in 1906. Matisse was the renowned leader of "fauvist" art.

From the beginning Picasso showed a deep interest and respect for works of Matisse. He is said to have commented about Matisse as follows: "You have got to be able to picture side by side everything Matisse and I were doing at that time. No one has ever looked at Matisse's painting more carefully than I; and no one has looked at mine more carefully than he." (Two Monoliths of Modern Art: Matisse & Picasso)

However the two men were extremely different in temperament and nature. " Reserved and dignified, Matisse was the image of respectability. Aggressive and egotistical, Picasso considered himself superior to every person he ever met" (Matisse and Picasso). On the one hand they were artistic rivals but on the other they were equals in an artistic sense. This friendly and respectful rivalry can be seen in the fact that, "The painting by Picasso entitled "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" had a counterpart by Matisse entitled "Les Demoiselles" and in this way the two artists mocked and complemented each others work." (Feigley A.) In other words they "spurred" each other on even though they had different artistic ideologies and attitudes.

The difference between the two artists can be seen in their often opposing artistic ideas and trajectories. For example, while Matisse was interested mainly in aesthetic aspects, Picasso developed social and political works such as the Guernica (1937), which was painted as a reaction to the Spanish Civil War. As the former MOMA curator Kirk Varnedoe states, "Over a lifetime of rivalry, each man discovered aspects of himself through the work of the other, and reinvented aspects of the other in his own work."(MATISSE-PICASSO RIVALRY EXHIBITION) On the other hand Picasso's experiment with surrealism, which relate particularly to the period under discussion, showed some very significant differences to the work of Matisse. While Picasso's female figures became more distorted and even brutal in appearance, Matisse painted sensuous and decorative nudes. Matisse and Picasso remained friends until the death of Matisse in 1954.

The above discussion provides the necessary background to the period of Picasso's work between 1932 and 1935. The comparison between Picasso and Matisse and the influences that Picasso had imbibed from his artistic relationship with Matisse can be seen in the portraits painted of Marie-Therese Walter. In this period when he was involved with Walters, his painting often had many of the lush and sensuous elements of Matisse. The portraits of Walter in the 1930's showed marked similarities to the style and use of color of Matisse, for example "Nude in Black Armchair" (1932).

A good example not only of the differences between the two artists is the remark that Matisse made about Picasso's work. Matisse stated that while he was a "servant" to the forms of nature, Picasso tended to break forms up. Matisse was the reconstructor and Picasso the deconstructor.."(MATISSE-PICASSO RIVALRY EXHIBITION) This aspect will become evident in the next section, which will discuss selected paintings of this time and also show differences in attitude and temperament between these two artists.

3. The paintings

In the light of the above discussion, the paintings that Picasso created with Marie-Therese Walter as his model during the period of their relationship must be understood and analysed against the background of two issues. The first, which has been briefly referred to, is the influence that relationships with women in Picasso's life had on his paintings. The second is that influence of other artistic styles and ideas.

Picasso could not escape the influence of the Surrealistic movement which emphasized the play of imagination and the distortion of the real. Another influence was the " rivalry" with Matisse. During the 1930's there was a change in Picasso's style form his neoclassical period. As referred to previously, the painting The Three Dancers was indicative of this change in mood and style. Alfred Barr calls this painting"... 'a turning point in Picasso's art almost as radical as the proto-cubist Demoiselles d'Avignon'. Following this he became concerned with the mythological image of the Minotaur and images of the Dying Horse and the Weeping Woman. The period culminated in his most famous work, Guernica..." (Chilvers 476)

Surrealism is also an important element in understanding the paintings of this period. Picasso uses surrealist ideas and methods and applied them to his own unique style. In order to understand the paintings one has to view the shift in tone and style in Picasso's works toward the influence of surrealism. This can be seen for example in the 1933 painting entitled "An Anatomy." The painting depicts a series of drawings which are a combination of organic and non-organic components.

The above aspects can be applied to a large extent to the paintings of Marie-Therese Walter during this period. In the 1932 portrait entitled "Woman with a Flower" surrealistic elements can be seen in the distortion of features and the sense of the importance of the imagination over representation in this painting.

Picasso wrote at the time, "I keep doing my best not to lose sight of nature. I want to aim at similarity, a profound similarity which is more real than reality, thus becoming surrealist."

The portraits inspired by Marie-Therese Walter were created in very bright and vivid colors, which were possibly related to the use of color typical of Matisse. However despite the brightness and clarity of the portraits like "Woman with a Flower," Picasso was to state that this period of life was one of the most difficult and depressing. This was the period when Marie-Therese Walter became pregnant and Olga left him.

The painting "Woman with a Flower" can be interpreted as having various levels of meaning. On the one level there is the obvious comparison of a women and flowers. However, on another level the painting is a cohesive combination of ambiguities and contrasts. There is also a distinct organic and earthy feel to the forms - which also relates to the archetypal and symbolic imagery in this period referred to in the introduction.

However this is not in any sense a representational painting and the symbolic elements predominate. The sense of ambiguity in intention can also be seen in the face that seems to scowl. This aspect could be interpreted as a reflection of the inner turmoil and ambiguity that the Picasso was feeling at the time.

The surrealistic aspects are taken further in the view of the women's head in the shape of bean. The stem becomes the woman's hand which further expands on the organic vision in the work.

In the painting human elements correspond with organic plant and flower elements.

As one analyses the painting further the initial sense of ambiguity is replaced by a sense of the correspondences and connections between the vegetative and human world. Another aspect that should be noted is the bright and almost brash use of color. This aspect relates to the Fauvist view of color and Matisse on one level and on another level to the expression of love and passion that Picasso was probably experiencing for his new love.

The painting entitled "Interior with girl drawing" which was completed in 1935 was also a portrait of Marie-Therese Walter, yet it has the inclusion of another woman in the background. This was obviously relevant to the situation of Picasso's life at the time and his conflict with Olga. There is another aspect of his personal life which may also explain the background figure. The background may also refer to Dora Maar, as it was during 1935 that he had fallen in love with her.

Another important aspect that should be noted about the painting is that while Picasso had included frontal and profile views in his portraits as well as their superimposition in previous works, he introduced a further stylistic innovation in this work. In "Interior with girl drawing" the figure in the foreground presents a profile view but both eyes are seen. Therefore the frontal view is anticipated or suggested in the profile.