Picasso’s Les Demoiselles D'avignon: A Perspective on Colonial
Bias and Cultural Appropriation within Modern Art
ARTH 2010 - Modern Art
University of Cincinnati
May 13, 2024
The world of western art and its history is often viewed in a rose-
tinted lens. We as critics and as casual viewers will theorize about
European and American artists of our time and earlier, relaying how
they alone changed tradition and opened new standards. However, we
do not share this same view regarding ethnic artists. We view it as
primitive, something the most simple of artists can do, a faceless
source of inspiration for the painters and designers to which we shift
our focus. Colonial bias has affected our views on art in a global
aspect, giving us a standard we expect from every background and
culture, regardless of their history in art. When this set standard is not
reached, we do not view it as an equal. Instead, ethnic arts and culture
are seen as an aesthetic, a phase, something meant to be appropriated
and used strictly for the west’s viewing pleasure.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
This bias settles onto the viewers of western art and the creators of
these pieces as well. Moreover, in idolization, academia tends to
ignore this, stating an artist’s use of ethnic cultures in works is out of
appreciation. In some cases, it turned into a form of white-saviorism.
Where those would claim none would know or defend the culture's
appropriation had it not been for this selfless western artist. Such is
the case with Pablo Picasso and his work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
This piece, considered one of Picasso’s many masterpieces, consists
of five sex-workers, the two on the furthest right sporting abstracted
versions of African masks. The European artist had engaged with
African arts as a source of inspiration. However, these were through
expositions and the works of ethnographers. So he could not have
genuinely gained the true meaning and impact of the masks used, nor
did there seem a recorded attempt to. Was there indeed a respectful
connection to African culture, or did Picasso, like other western
artists, view it as an object for his work?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a turning point in Picasso’s career; it
had directed the artist towards the path of Cubism and happened to be
heavily influenced by primitivism. Primitivism, within the art world,
has its roots within 20th-century Western interest in the culture and art
of Native America, Oceania, and Africa. This context alone holds a
problematic tone, as it categorizes these cultures as the other,
something believed to be less sophisticated and refined compared to
European and American art. In itself, the term is charged, and seeped
in Western bias, something I remain aware of throughout its use in
this paper. Not to say that Western artists could not find inspiration
from NonWestern sources, as art practices throughout history would
“discover” styles from ethnic cultures and incorporate them within
their art. Nevertheless, there is discussion to be had on the bias that
often ran behind and led to these inspirations.
In the case of Picasso, it was the preference of aesthetics over the
educational purpose of the African objects seen within his work. He
and artists within his circle would collect and share multiple primitive
objects amongst each other.[footnoteRef:1] Due to France’s
colonization of Africa, however, the culture of the objects was lost,
impossible for artists to receive. Alongside the preset colonial bias
within Picasso, this would prevent the item from reaching its true
potential when used in Western art. This choice of presenting the
objects as such would separate them from their culture, “…the artifact
becomes imbued with a perpetual air of mystery, which further
separates Western and non-Western art.” It was not just African
objects he would use towards this piece, however, but the figure of
African individuals as well. In her catalog Picasso and Photography:
The Dark Mirror, Anne Baldassari argues that Picasso had another
source of African imagery via his collection of postcards, taken by
ethnographer Edmond Fortier while in West Africa.
Baldassari shows that a multitude of postcards holds specific poses
akin to Picasso's works. While this discovery is argued over, it brings
with it a more depressive tone of colonial bias and objectification.
Anthropometric photography holds an objectifying manner to it,
recording only the physical features of the subject. These images were
used to reinforce the imperialist idea of Western supremacy and
justify the colonial rule, as well as provide 'exotic' material for the
viewer to personally enjoy. The very existence of these images was to
dehumanize multiple cultures and peoples, show them as a sort of
tourist attraction or exotic flavor for the west to enjoy. It would fit in
perfectly with Western art, and in turn, Picasso’s obsession with
African influences. For like the objects, the people, too, were taken
away from their humanity, they merely became aesthetics for the artist
to use within their work.
It did not mean, however, that Picasso and other artists of the time sat
idly by during Africa’s colonialization. The inspiration drawn from
the “dark continent” was the driving force in debates against French
colonial policy, as well as a public outcry from anarchists and
socialists alike. Despite this approach, Picasso did not broaden this
same criticism towards his works. He embraced the reductive views of
Africa’s culture and people into his work; the very same used to
promote colonial justification. It is here where colonial bias holds its
own. Even with their anti-colonialist views, Picasso and his fellow
artists' choice to keep Africa a “mystical” area and incorporating an
imagined primitiveness to its people was no less stereotypical as the
works they opposed.
The artwork in focus is no exception to this. Seen with the two women
on the far right, Picasso would adopt African forms as a
personification of disorder against the standards of modern art. Within
Les Demoiselles, the two women consisting of the African-looking
masks are often seen by critics as bestial or ugly. Scathing labels still
used against Black people, especially Black women, to this day. They
are seen as more aggressive and unwelcoming compared to the other
figures within the painting. As Chave states in her article regarding
this painting, within the critics' eyes, “the two figures in Africaneaque
masks is a narrative of regression: of normality regressing into
deviancy…contained eroticism lapsing into raw animality.” Les
Demoiselles sets up these vaguely African figures as shock factors; if
anything, they disrupt the piece as a whole, representing a zone of
chaos and wilderness. However, he does not paint these women as
black women, which would have made the discussion of these
associations of exotic sexuality much more present.[footnoteRef:9]
Instead, Picasso places the masks onto white women, combining two
themes; but this choice in itself is insensitive, as appropriating these
references into white culture harms the culture he claims to appreciate.
Furthermore, this is not the first time Picasso would seem to ignore
how Africa’s people had influenced his work or how they were
represented. In Gikandi’s essay, they discuss the fact that while
Picasso had an intimate relationship with objects of African culture,
yet not the same level of interest towards the African people as
producers of culture beyond anti-colonial movements in which he
participated. Gikandi would also go on to present how the artist would
separate the art from the culture to use in his struggle against
established conventions of Western Art. Picasso was known to be
irritated by “Negro influence” on his work, despite his praises on the
magical influence African objects on him. Admittedly, a rather
concerning notion from an artist we revere for their anarchist work.
Why would one so involved in criticizing France’s colonial exploits
be frustrated at the fact a non-Western culture influenced his work?
Again, this is where colonial bias would settle in. Picasso had joined
in the outcry over France’s crimes of dehumanization of the African
people, yet he would strip the cultures affected into a primitive output
for his art to use. In doing so, and with institutions of commentary
following suit, African art and culture are barred from modernism,
despite engendering it in the first place. Of course, this blame is not
entirely on the artist himself. Picasso’s introduction to African objects
was through a colonialist circumstance, removing any chance of
genuinely knowing the natures of the objects he would appropriate.
This removal from culture, as well as personally not being affected by
the horrors Africa faced, do come into play in regards to how Western
artists would see ethnic peoples.
In all, Les Demoiselles is an example of appropriation as well as an
example of colonial bias. There have been many writings on whether
Picasso himself intended this in his works or not. And while I do agree
on the environment at the time causing these views, we must not
exempt the artists, nor the institutions, entirely from their actions.
Picasso had worked with the harmful stereotypes of Africa in order to
boost his success. Western bias is very much an issue within the art
world, feeling the need to evacuate Others from the scene of modern
art in order to “preserve” institutions of high arts. As both an artist and
a Person of Color, it is essential to discuss these issues when we can in
order to rethink both how we view art, as well as how we decide who
is allowed into it.
Works Cited
Chave, Anna. 1994. 'New Encounters with Les Demoiselles
d'Avignon: Gender, Race and the Origins of Cubism.' ART
BULLENTIN 597-611.
http://annachave.com/wpcontent/uploads/2016/09/New-
Encounters.pdf.
Cohen, Janie. 2015. 'Staring Back: Anthropometric-style African
Colonial Photography and Picasso's Demoiselles.' Photography &
Culture (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2015) 8 (1): 59-80.
doi:10.2752/175145215X14244337011162.
Gikandi, Simon. 2003. 'Picasso, Africa, and the Schemata of
Difference.' Modernism/modernity
(John Hopkins University Press) 10 (3): 455-480. http://shifter-
magazine.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/10/Gikandi-Picasso-Africa-
and-the-Schemata-of-Difference.pdf.
Hummer, Madison. 2018. 'The Appropration of African Objects in
Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.' Senior Thesis, Trinity
College, Hartford, 160. Accessed 2019.
https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1760&context=theses. Leighten, Patricia. 1990. 'The White
Peril and L'Art Negre: Picasso, Primitivism, and Anticolonialism.' The
Art Bulletin 72 (4): 609-30. doi:10.2307/3045764.
Chave, Anna. 1994. 'New Encounters with Les Demoiselles
d'Avignon: Gender, Race and the Origins of Cubism.' ART
BULLENTIN 597-611.
http://annachave.com/wpcontent/uploads/2016/09/New-
Encounters.pdf.
Cohen, Janie. 2015. 'Staring Back: Anthropometric-style African
Colonial Photography and Picasso's Demoiselles.' Photography &
Culture (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2015) 8 (1): 59-80.
doi:10.2752/175145215X14244337011162.
Gikandi, Simon. 2003. 'Picasso, Africa, and the Schemata of
Difference.' Modernism/modernity
(John Hopkins University Press) 10 (3): 455-480. http://shifter-
magazine.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/10/Gikandi-Picasso-Africa-
and-the-Schemata-of-Difference.pdf.
Hummer, Madison. 2018. 'The Appropration of African Objects in
Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.' Senior Thesis, Trinity
College, Hartford, 160. Accessed 2019.
https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1760&context=theses. Leighten, Patricia. 1990. 'The White
Peril and L'Art Negre: Picasso, Primitivism, and Anticolonialism.' The
Art Bulletin 72 (4): 609-30. doi:10.2307/3045764.
Myers, Fred. 2006. 'Primitivism, Anthropology, and the Category of
Primitive Art.' In Handbook of Material Culture, by Chris Tilley,
Webb Keane, Susanne Kuechler, Mike Rowlands and Patricia Spyer,
267-285. SAGE Publications Ltd.
Picasso, Pablo. 1994. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Museum of
Modern Art, New York.
