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Rembrandt's subjects. The German poet Rilke saw the huge letter "D" as the great initial letter of "thereness." Courbet's "The Burial at Ornans" (20C) conforms to this same configuration.

There are other examples of this shape which has played a role in figure composition by the masters. In Rembrandt's "The Mocking of Christ" (21A), the letter "D" is apparent. The Christ is the isolated, seated figure. The "D" is present but is less obvious in Rembrandt's "Christ Preaching" (21B). The fat clown of Picasso's creation has his counterpart in the center of Rembrandt's composition. A kneeling man in the lower right is the isolated figure. Two other Rembrandt drawings may have a bearing on this work. Consider "The Departure of Benjamin for Egypt" (21C) and the "Dismissal of Hagar" (21E). Goya's "Family of Charles V" (21D) line up in the same pose.

Roland Penrose claims that Picasso "was intrigued by Egyptian and Phoenician art styles which in those days were generally considered barbaric." The rhythms developed through the positions of the arms and the bas-relief modeling of "Woman with a Fan" seem to support such a claim. This painting is more objective and deliberate in the relationship of its parts and the color is more simplified compared with the work Picasso produced before 1905 (Penrose 76).

Picasso was cognizant of the abandonment of Impressionism for more solid form. His research of the masters helped him develop this trend in art. The metaphors of his rose colored works of this period would be given classical form in the production that followed.

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