Primitive Art and Cubism

At the beginning of the exhibit "Cubism" currently at the Centre Pompidou is a display of primitive art objects that once belonged to the artists. Documentation throughout the exhibit pointed out how these objects influenced Picasso and his fellow cubists to see new ways to depict faces and other objects. Various displays of African art, mainly from the French colonial possessions of the early 20th century, awakened the interest of Picasso and others in his circle of artists.

 

Picasso's 1910 portrait of art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler includes a sketchy
African mask in the top area. African and primitive art was an influence on the cubists.
Kahnweiler and other dealers sold African masks as well as the work of the cubists.

Picasso's famous portrait of Gertrude Stein (1905) showed
the influence of African masks in the delineation of her features.

Visiting the other galleries of the museum last Saturday, we saw several primitive sculptures that were similarly influenced.
This is a 1912 sculpture by Modigliani, who exhibited with the cubists before developing his unique style of painting.

A work by Brancusi that shows this influence.

An African mask displayed at the Musée de l'Orangerie also relates to
the Picasso works and others on display there in the collection of dealer
Paul Guillaume, who sold African art as well as the works of the cubists.

At  l'Orangerie.  

At  l'Orangerie. 

The studio of André Breton (1896-1966) is now reconstructed in the Musée d'Orsay. Breton was a founder of the Surrealist movement,
and his appreciation of works from many primitive cultures is one of the defining features (in my opinion) of
many movements in modern art, beginning a few years before he became active in the 1920s.

Breton collected primitive work from many cultures throughout the world.

I wrote about Breton's ownership of a mask from the native people of
Alert Bay, B.C. when we visited there recently.  See the historic note
at the end of this post: "Alert Bay..." for details.

Two temporary art exhibits and one permanent collection that we visited in Paris last week featured the work of Picasso and his contemporaries, and also included some of the primitive art:

• "Picasso. Blue and Rose" at the Musée d'Orsay, September 18, 2018-January 6, 2019 included a very large number of the painter's early paintings and sculptures from collections all over the world. It was fascinating to see such a young man emerge with so many incredible creative ideas, and to think that after the impressive accomplishment of this era he still would be a leader for another 70 years!
• "Le Cubisme" at the Centre Pompidou, October 17, 2018-February 25-2019, presented a large number of works by the major and minor cubists, especially Picasso. Essentially this exhibit started at the moment when the Orsay exhibit left off, and showed Picasso's next period of creative life. We also viewed the permanent collections which include related works.
• The Jean Walter-Paul Guillaume Collection at the Musée de l'Orangerie includes works by Renoir, Cézanne, Gauguin, Monet, Sisley, Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, Marie Laurencin, Douanier Rousseau, Derain, Utrillo, Soutine and Van Dongen. Paul Guillaume (1891-1934), an art dealer in Paris from 1914 until his death, was the originator of this collection, which was donated by his wife and her second husband, whom she married after his death. The collection includes examples of African art, which he introduced to the cubists and other moderns.