Monday, August 17, 2015

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in the bottom.

Another quick notation is "Study of Two Persons, One Seated, One Standing" of March 1907, (52), where Picasso changed from the horizontal format compressing the sides into a vertical as he returned to El Greco's "Holy Trinity." (42A). Here the wings of the Holy Ghost were united with the angel on the left and its long dress was sketched. The triangle reappeared at the base as seen in the line of Christ's right leg and the right leg of the angel. On careful observation, the image of an Egyptian style figure may be discerned in the sketch. What is important is that this signals the change to a vertical design.

In "Study of Six Persons, Four Women, A Medical Student and a Sailor" of May 1907, (53), Picasso included the deer skull from "Diana and Actaeon" (43A) but placed it alongside the triangle in his study. This skull was a transformation of the left foot and ankle of Christ in "Holy Trinity." (42A).

The following examples support my contention that Picasso relied heavily on El Greco's "Holy Trinity" (42A) at this stage of his development of "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon." Anomalies exist in the sketchbooks such as a dog nursing her pups which occurs in Sketchbook #6, with numerous pages filled with this images that Picasso transformed from thee folds of the robe of God the Father. Several sketches named "Study for a Woman in a Riding Habit" May 1907 are examples of how Picasso played with the broad stern of the angel in "Holy Trinity," (42A) with what appears to be a very narrow waist, to create his sketches.


Continuing to play in Sketchbook #7, Picasso recalled human pyramids in the vertical progression of the figures in the "Holy Trinity," (42A) culminating in the dove symbol of the "Holy Ghost in several studies. Also from the same Sketchbook #7 we can see where Picasso "found" an owl in the feathers of the angel with mauve and green clothes near the dark surround of the wing. The owl, which he saw there, was addressed on several pages, two of which have a drawing of owls and birds. He also focused on the unusual bent ear of this angel in "Page of Studies, Birds and Ear" May-June 1907 (54) and in a reverse profile "Page of Studies, Birds and a Head of a Woman" May-June 1907. An owl is a symbol for Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom who introduced several of the

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