Pablo Picasso: A Period of Transformation (1906-1916)

Matisse and Picasso first met during the Matisse retrospective at Galerie Druet in 1906. This encounter sparked jealousy in Picasso, leading him to pursue greater innovations in art. Matisse also introduced Picasso to African sculptures, which inspired the birth of Cubism.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 400 pages
Publication date: 01 April 2023
Publisher: Liverpool University Press

It is still up for debate when Matisse and Picasso first crossed paths. Their first meeting may have occurred at the Matisse retrospective at Galerie Druet just before the 1906 Salon des Indépendants. The latter marked the first time all the Fauves exhibited together. Matisse's monumental painting Le bonheur de vivre served as the focal point. While the Salon was still in progress, Leo Stein purchased the artwork, considering it "the most important work of our time." Picasso was undoubtedly irritated by this viewpoint. Jealousy of the other man's success drove him to greater innovations. In his opinion, the new art had to match the sense of endless discovery that science and technology were offering. The 1900 "Exposition Universelle" had already showcased the latest marvels in engineering. If painting wanted to retain the public's attention, it had to create its own reality on the canvas, a reality more vivid than anything found in nature. Matisse also played a catalytic role in introducing Picasso to African sculptures. Max Jacob recalls: "Matisse took a black, wooden statuette from a table and showed it to Picasso. It was the first piece of Negro wooden art. Picasso held onto it all evening. The next morning, when I arrived at the studio, the floor was strewn with sheets of paper, and on each sheet was drawn the head of a woman; all of them were more or less the same: one eye, an oversized nose attached to the mouth, and a lock of hair on the shoulders. Cubism was thus born" (cited in Janine Warnod, Washboat Days [New York: Grossman Publishers Warnod, 1972, p. 128]).

Dimension: 250 x 210 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781789761528