New Movements and Ideas
Artwork-level Analysis - A unique feature of TheArtStory
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
In both content and execution, this painting shocked the art world and Picasso’s close friends. Although nude women as subjects were not unusual, blatantly portraying prostitutes in aggressively sexual postures was extraordinary. Picasso's studies of tribal art are most evident in the mask-like rendered faces, imagery that suggests their sexuality as being not just aggressive, but primitive.
Picasso radically took his experimentation with space to another level in this work. He abandoned three-dimensionality, which had been customary since the Renaissance, and instead presented a flattened picture plane that is broken up into geometric shards. For example, the leg of the woman on the left is painted as if seen from several points of view simultaneously, making it difficult to distinguish the leg from the negative space around it.
Art History Timelines
These interactive timelines are used to graphically and logically illustrate the progression of visual art.
They aim to educate and introduce topics using technology and the interactive capabilities of the web.
What is The Art Story?
Whether you are interested in - an artist (Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso, or Kara Walker), an art movement or artistic direction (Impressionism, Performance, or The Baroque), or even an art concept (The Readymade, Renaissance Humanism, or Collage) - we have specialized pages covering your topic of interest.
Each page is written to get you the information you need quickly. We focus on what is important about each topic, and what makes it interesting, striving to present you with the perfect summary.
Welcome to our huge, and ever-growing effort!