Transcript NeoClassicism

Matisse & Picasso
Each inspired a different
form of rebellion against
realism, one of shape, the
other of color.
Matisse & Picasso
Picasso, in Cubism, broke up
forms to recombine them in
new ways.
Matisse, not to describe form
but to express feeling,
launched a chromatic
revolution.
Henri Matisse
1869-1954 (85 years)
Matisse had a long career, he
worked 12-14 hours a day
Matisse sought to eliminate
nonessentials and retain only a
subjects most fundamental
qualities.
Madame Matisse Madras by Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Matisse lived in trying times:
countless strikes, uprisings,
assassinations, and two world
wars exploded around him.
Yet his paintings ignored all
social or political commentary
Musique by Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
He believed paintings should
not only be beautiful but bring
pleasure to the viewer.
He was a master of the sinuously
curved line called an
“arabesque”
Dance by Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
In his later years he was bedridden
and suffered from arthritis.
He would fasten a piece of charcoal
to bamboo fishing pole to sketch
huge figures above his bed.
Matisse working in bed
Henri Matisse
His favorite activity during
these years was to create
massive cut paper collages.
These vivid collages were his
most original work, the
culmination of a lifetime
simplifying and intensifying art
Le Gerbe by Matisse
Large Scale Composition with Masks by Matisse
Large Scale Composition with Masks (for Scale) by Matisse
Blue Nude II by Matisse
Henri Matisse
The extreme simplification of
his symbols and signs was
purposeful.
Childishly simple was part of
Matisse’s success. “I have
worked for years in order that
people might say “It seems so
easy to do!”
Jazz by Matisse
Picasso
1881-1973 (92 years old)
Picasso led the forces of artistic
innovation, shocking the world
by introducing a new style and
then moving on as soon as his
unorthodoxy became accepted.
Portrait of his mother by Picasso
Picasso
Probably the most prolific
Western artist ever: produced an
estimated 50,000 works.
By his mid-teens he’d mastered the
art of drawing with photographic
accuracy.
Picasso
Blue Period: Picasso used cool
indigo and cobalt blue shades.
Obsessed with scrawny blind
beggars and derelicts for subject
matter.
Elongated bony figures until
they looked like starved El
Grecos.
The Old Guitarist by Picasso
Self Portrait 1901 by Picasso
Picasso
Rose Period: Picasso fell in love
and began to use delicate pinks
and earth colors to paint circus
performers.
Acrobat and Young Harlequin by Picasso
Picasso
African Period: introduced to
African masks at an art exhibit
and began incorporating their
motifs into his art.
Painted Demoiselles d’Avignon
which is credited with
singlehandedly changing the
course of art.
Les Demoiselles D’ Avignon by Picasso
Picasso
Demoiselles d’Avignon
 Hazy on anatomy, lop-sided
eyes, deformed ears, dislocated
limbs.
 Picasso fractured the laws
perspective to depict multiple
views of one scene.
Girl Before a Mirror by Picasso
Portrait of Ambroise Vollard by Picasso
Picasso
 Guernica
 During the Spanish Civil War the
dictator had war planes drop bombs
on the small town of Guernica.
 2,000 people were killed and thousands
more were injured.
 Enraged Picasso painted Guernica in
one month. It is 25 feet wide and 11 feet
high.
Picasso
 Guernica
 Used a black-gray palette to
emphasize hopelessness
 Distorted figures to evoke
violence.
 Jagged lines and shattered planes
denote terror and confusion.
Guernica by Picasso
Picasso
 He was inspired by Cezanne’s
geometric patterns.
 1912 his “Guitar” sheet metal
found object piece broke with
conventional sculpture materials.
 Picasso summed up his career “ I
love discovering things”
Guitar by Picasso