Picasso, portret Gertrudy Stein

The Laundry Barge

In 1904, Picasso rented a studio in an old, dilapidated building in Paris filled with artists and poets. Located at 13 Rue Ravignan, the building was dubbed the Bateau-Lavoir (or laundry barge) by poet-in-residence, Max Jacob.

It was at this time that Picasso first came into contact with French painter Henri Matisse, as well as the American expatriate Gertrude Stein.  Gertrude commissioned a portrait by Picasso in 1905, around the same time that her brother Leo bought Matisse's Bonheur de Vivre.  As the strong solid woman of Picasso’s painting suggests, Gertrude Stein was a formidable presence in Paris of the early 20th century.  An influential writer, she, along with her brother, was an important patron of the arts, known for hosting salons that brought together some of the period’s most famous artists, writers, and intellectuals.

At the time of his commission, Picasso hoped to cultivate a relationship with the wealthy Stein, who had already been impressed by the innovative style of Matisse.  

In contrast to Matisse's bright colors and sensuous undertones in paintings like Bonheur de Vivre,  Picasso’s portrait demonstrates the angular distortions and formal experimentation that would characterize his artwork through the invention of Cubism.  

The story goes that Stein sat for Picasso so many times (as many as 90 sittings) that eventually he said he could no longer see her when he looked at her. He then wiped out her face in the painting and left on a trip to Spain.  When he returned to Paris in the fall, Picasso quickly completed the portrait—supposedly from memory—in a way that challenged traditional expectations of portraiture.  Whereas most portraits tell us about the sitter through their physical likeness and expressive detail, Picasso instead showed his subject as a massive hulking figure who stares blankly past the viewer.  

Painted in dull, muted colors, Stein’s broad body fills Picasso’s canvas. Her bulky form sits on a large armchair or sofa and stiffly leans forward, imposing in the way she rests her arms and large hands heavily on the folds of her skirt.  In contrast to the rounded mass of the figure, Stein’s face has a planar quality that seems hard and mask-like—an effect heightened by the geometric treatment of the eyes, nose, and mouth, and the dark modeling that distinguishes its angular contours from the rest of her head and body.

Dziwny sposób w jaki Picasso przestawił Stein jest bez wątpienia odzwierciedleniem wpływu jaki wywarła na niego sztuka afrykańska i iberyjska. Może to być również aluzja do idei głoszącej bezsilność sztuki wobec ukazania całej prawdy na temat przedstawianej jednostki. Tak jak wielu europejskich artystów tamtych czasów, Picasso lubił szukać inspiracji w prymitywnej sztuce innych kultur. Miało to związek z pewnym poglądem ery kolonializmu, uznającym “nieucywilizowane” kultury za bardziej autentyczne pod względem duchowym od ludności rozwiniętych, europejskich miast.  Picasso z jednej strony ubóstwiał cechy formalne prymitywnej rzeźby, z drugiej zaś uważał, że za jej pomocą można wyrazić myśli, znaczenia i idee niemożliwe do przekazania przez tradycyjną sztukę Zachodu.

Zmieniając portret Gertrudy Stein w iście prymitywistyczne dzieło, Picasso nadał sobie prawo do pokazywania kobiet takimi jakie są naprawdę, a nie jedynie przez pryzmat cech fizycznych.  W odpowiedzi na otrzymany portret Stein poprała jego punkt widzenia.  W swojej książce dotyczącej Picassa napisała:

Like Picasso’s reliance on the expressive potential of primitive forms, Stein’s repetitive word play demonstrates her own interest in how language could convey meaning through formal effect instead of descriptive content.  For the artist and the author, both challenged the conventions of their media in order to explore the power of art to communicate in new ways that would be appropriate to the modern era.  

Autorami eseju są dr Beth Harris i dr Steven Zucker.

[1] Gertrude Stein, Picasso (London: B.T. Batsford, LTD, 1938); reprinted by Dover Publications, 1984, p. 8.