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CHAPTER I

Early Attractions - 1901-1904

Xavier de Salas has given an account of Picasso’s experiences in Paris. When Picasso first visited Paris in the fall of 1900, he brought with him the preconceived notions he had developed from the descriptions given by the young Spaniards -- Ramon Casas, Miguel Utrillo, Santiago Rusinol, and others -- who had gone to Paris before him. They returned to Spain praising Paris to the rebel group that met at "the Four Cats" bar in Barcelona. In Paris, they said, they had found galleries to exhibit their work and inspiration from the artists and writers who worked in the more liberal atmosphere of Paris.

Picasso had been attracted to the rebels in 1894 when he saw a procession in which two El Greco paintings were carried through the streets accompanied by Catalan poets and artists. Because El Greco was not held in high esteem in Madrid at this time, the paintings had been purchased in Paris to be installed in a museum in Barcelona. It was after this event that Picasso, who had established some reputation as an artist by that time since several medals had been awarded to him for his paintings, joined the group.

In Spain, Picasso had also developed an appreciation for Velazquez, saying in a letter that he thought the work of Velazquez was first class and the heads of El Greco were magnificent. This letter was dated 1897, showing an early admiration for these artists. In the same letter, he vows to surpass the Spanish painter, Nonell, who seems to have had some influence on Picasso's early work. We also know that he studied Velazquez and Goya in the Prado Museum in Madrid (de Salas 483).

EXAMPLES FROM 1901

In the spring of 1901, after he had returned to Spain, Picasso came back to Paris. There he studied the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Denis, Carriere, Cezanne, and others. In the Louvre he visited the collections of the old masters and the rooms of Egyptian and ancient Mediterranean art which Alfred H. Barr, Jr. believed were the sources for the “archaisms” which appear in Picasso's work from 1900-1902 (Barr 19).

It is significant that Picasso was inspired by the masters of art whom he deemed sympathetic to the conditions of the common man. Thus, artists like Rembrandt, Velazquez, El Greco, Zurbaran, Courbet, Degas, Manet, Van Gogh, Lautrec, and Steinlen are significant sources for him during this time.

“Mourners” 1901 (1)

In "Mourners” (1), it has been noted that the little nude boy on the right was taken from El Greco's "Holy Family with St. Anne and the Infant Baptist" (1B) (de Salas 484). However, it has not been reported that the painting is a mirror image of Zurbaran's “Burial of St. Bonaventure” (1A).

“Burial of Casagemas / Evocation” 1901 (2)

In the larger canvas of the "Burial of Casagemas,” done in 1901, also called "Evocation" (2), Picasso shows the burial of his friend who committed suicide after being rejected by a woman he desired. The mourners surrounding the body are smaller in scale than those of the earlier, smaller version. For this work Picasso combined sources, a signal that this was an important project for him.

A major connection, I believe, exists between this painting and Rembrandt's etching "The Death of the Virgin" (2A), as the Rembrandt provided the compositional framework.

Other elements may derive from William Blake's "O How I Dreamt of Things Impossible" (2B) as the figures ascend on the back of a horse.

In a manner recalling El Greco's "Burial of Conde de Orgaz" (2C), Picasso substituted nudes, prostitutes, children, a mother and child along with a dancing horse for the Count, friends, religious figures and Christ, Mary, St. John the Baptist, St. Peter and other saints and angels in heaven., Phoebe Pool relates Picasso’s figures to Redon's horses (“Sources” 180), all allegorical figures mounting a bank of clouds above the heads of the mourners who are solidly modeled and simplified.

A stone sepulcher in a forced perspective vision has been added to the right of the picture. According to De Salas, these figures with folded arms and mothers carrying infants are some of the first signs of a personal style in Picasso's art and evoke a feeling of compassion (de Salas 484). Picasso played down the spiritual theme of the sources and made this work more of a reflection of his worldly situation.

The circular cloud patterns and the placement of the figures in Picasso's painting suggest that Delacroix's "Peace Restoring the Bounty of the Earth" (2D) made a significant contribution to the development of this work.

I believe this is one of the first examples of Picasso's combining sources.

“L' entrevue / The Visit (study)" 1901 (3)

This study for "L'entrevue / The Visit) (3) is an early example of Picasso using "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Charles Gleyre (5A).

“Self Portrait” 1901 (4)

When he left his home in Spain, Picasso was searching for himself and becoming aware of the misery of his own life and of those around him. His "Self-Portrait”(4) focuses attention on the face. The background is painted flatly as is the texture of the heavy coat. This portrait gives evidence of a Picasso who has suffered the cold and hunger of the poor in Paris. He had burned some of his own drawings to keep warm that winter, and his meals often consisted of rotten sausage. Considering this, the portrait does not seem to have as strong an element of self-pity as it does of acceptance.

The drawing and mood of this portrait may be traced back to a portrait of a "Dominican" (15A) by El Greco in the emphasis on the forehead, ear, and cheek-bone and in the treatment of the mouth and beard. 

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