124

truism that no great modern art has been made without as much absorption of the old masters. In the post-war years, just when the next great wave of major painting was coming to terms with new possibilities by a rejection of Picasso and what he had done, he blind to contemporary art, painted ludicrous Picassian versions of Manet, Courbet, El Greco, Delacroix, Velazquez” (Hilton 254).

EXAMPLES FROM 1944

"Bacchanale" 1944 (125)

An example is the version Picasso did of Poussin's "Triumph of Pan" in 1944. Note how Picasso's abstracted shapes in his "Bacchanale" (125) are more fluid than the shapes in (125A).

"Charnel House" 1944-45, (126)

Picasso built his "Charnel House" (126) on the foundation of Delacroix's "Death of Sardanapalus" (126A). Sardanapalus, facing defeat at the hands of his enemy, destroys his harem and his possessions along with himself rather than be conquered. "Charnel House" was Picasso's comment at the end of World War II. Robert Rosenblum pointed out an affinity between "The Charnel House" and Goya's "Ravages of War" from the "Disasters of War" (126B). Note the juxtaposition of dead figures with the still life objects suggested by linear shapes which are also present in he top of (126A).

The work described in this section represent the most ambitious juxtapositioning of styles and shapes of Picasso's career. The Spanish Civil War and World War II demanded serious work from Picasso. He met the challenge. After this time he apparently chose to isolate himself and became content to parody art.  

124