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The beginning of art critic discussions concerning Pablo Picasso’s Cubism is attributed to Leo Steinberg’s 1972 essay, The Philosophical Brothel, according to Lisa Florman, and the significance of the his paintings subsequent to Les Demoiselles d’Avignon has been argued ever since. Arguments range from whether the Picasso’s cubism opened the door to a new sexuality as Steinberg proposed, or whether Picasso took his artistic inspiration from African Art. The answer is that he did both, but Les Demoiselles is his first cubist piece, while his portrait of Gertrude Stein is his first painting utilizing the African mask. 4 works cited. jvPStein.rtf
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Florman, and the significance of the his paintings subsequent to Les Demoiselles dAvignon has been argued ever since. Arguments range from whether the Picassos cubism opened the door to a
new sexuality as Steinberg proposed, or whether Picasso took his artistic inspiration from African Art. The answer is that he did both, but Les Demoiselles is his first cubist piece,
while his portrait of Gertrude Stein is his first painting utilizing the African mask. Picasso would disagree with this assessment in any
case. While Steinberg wrote that in Picassos planes, curves and angles, women are drawn as "a tidal wave of female aggression," Picasso insisted that everything he drew, including women, were
drawn in lesprit de geometrie, or an illustration of the human body in its geometric form (Danto 18). Picasso denied ever using the African Art form in favor of his
claim for pure geometry. Despite his denials, critics continue to believe Picasso was inspired by African art form. Art critic Arthur C.
Danto says, "Picasso is painting in an Africanistic mode-even the still lifes have heavy outlines and irregular shapes, as if given form under conditions too primitive for the potters wheel"
(Danto 19). Danto supports his argument with the fact that this is the natural progression out of Picassos Blue Period, which embodied humans in their wildest postures. Thus, the movement
into cubist forms and African Art is a means of expressing the primitive thoughts held by every human in regards to sex, sorrow and sentimentality, which are apparent in Picassos
cubist paintings (Danto 19). Danto believes in the efficacy of his beliefs; however, believes it began with Picassos first cubist piece, Les Demoiselles in 1907, just a short time after
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