Summary: Male Depiction In Art

Male depiction in art has been present for as long as art has been made. This dates back to the male presence within cave paintings in the Lascaux caves of France, during prehistoric times. In more modern art, artists such as Pablo Picasso and Jean-Michel Basquiat carried on the tradition of male depiction, while pulling from the art of Africa. The African art influenced modern artists in the form of masks and statues. Each artist pulled the influences into a new style of art and created a focus on an art more distant from that of America and Spain. Looking at the non-western art of Africa provides a view into a different culture known to the western world. The visual design of African Masks later inspired artists such as Pablo Picasso and …show more content…
His artwork was created in periods, in which each piece centered around ideas such as particular colors. First was the blue period which lasted from 1901 to 1904, followed by the rose period from 1904 to 1906. Picasso’s African period began in 1906 after being inspired by the primitive culture of Africa. This led to the study of African art and tribal masks, while also referencing the primitivism found within work by Paul Gauguin. In 1907, Picasso began his African period with paintings such as the Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and Mother and Child. The earlier works of Picasso’s cubist period primarily focused on women as subject matter but later paintings included male figures (“Primitivism and Cubism”). One painting in particular that included male figures as the main subject is “Three Musicians”. This painting is housed under the style of synthetic cubism and gives the overall appearance of cut paper. According to Guy Habasque, in reference to the creation of cubism, “only they tied up with the forms actually existing on the canvas, not with those of a model hypothetically present in the background” (Guy Habasque). This quote supports the idea that cubism is aimed at a minimal representation of the human figure, showing that the purpose is not the model but the representation. The painting can possibly be seen as a reply to Henri Matisse 1916 painting “The Piano Lesson”. The painting “Three Musicians” itself is …show more content…
Meanwhile, in Basquiat’s, there is more emphasis on the subject matter alone. This allows the viewer to focus on the meaning of the powerful image itself, which relates back to the African sense of primitivism. This being said, Picasso focuses more on the physical aspects of the piece, such as the geometric representation of facial and bodily features. Also, regarding color, it is evident that Basquiat uses a lack of color to bring emphasis to the form featured while Picasso explores the color relationship within the

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