Verified Document

Portraits Of Gertrude Stein An Term Paper

Related Topics:

250). At this point in his career, Picasso could represent Stein quite well. The style is neither abstract nor entirely avant-garde: it is reflective, slightly off-kilter, but encompassing of the subject and her character. Picasso's portrait of Gertrude Stein, therefore, must be considered the better of the two, even if Rose's appears to be the more dynamic. Rose was an imitator, not exactly an orginal -- but then, could the same be said of Picasso? Both were feeding into the whirlwind that was modern art, constantly exploding and changing the dynamic of form and expression. Picasso's Stein, however, retains the dignity of the brush for a moment and is a thoughtful representation of a woman whose own influence over the art world was so great.

While, as Johnson says, Picasso's "distorted paintings of women are closely linked to the pleasure he got from hurting them, both physically and in other ways," (p. 256) none of that is depicted in his portrait of Stein. The painting is respectful to say the least, and showed what Picasso was capable of in terms of representative art work. There is no evidence that Picasso "ruled over" Stein -- quite the contrary, from the grandeur of her character in the portrait, one might assume that Stein, in fact, ruled over Picasso.

Allen's film makes the same point, showing Stein to be a figure of massive importance and of great insight -- dismissing Picasso's work...

Apparently she wanted to do the same for her friend Francis Rose, too. All she did, however, was foist upon the public another artist whose background could introduce Catholics to the modern mania that was taking the art world down the road of no tradition. Such an action could be viewed as typical of Stein's attempt to be part of two camps -- the literary/artistic and the faithful and traditional Catholic. Rose's portrait (when considered in this light) can almost seem to have something of the religious icon about it: perhaps reaching back to the tradition of Byzantine art to and combining it with abstract modernism.
Conclusion

In either case, both artists attempt to represent their patron in the most favorable light: Picasso's is surprisingly the most representative -- which would have delighted Stein, for his other works of women are less so. Yet Rose's abstraction would also have delighted her, for she wanted nothing more than to be seen as one who "understood" art and could admire it in all its modernity, and still retain her religious and traditional roots at the same time.

Bibliography

"Art: Blossoming Career." Times. 1949. Web. 23 June 2011.

Greenberg, C. "Avant-Garde and Kitsch." Partisan Review. 6.5, 1939: 34-49.

Johnson, P. Creators. New York: HarperCollins, 2006.

Sources used in this document:
Bibliography

"Art: Blossoming Career." Times. 1949. Web. 23 June 2011.

Greenberg, C. "Avant-Garde and Kitsch." Partisan Review. 6.5, 1939: 34-49.

Johnson, P. Creators. New York: HarperCollins, 2006.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso
Words: 1162 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Gertrude Stein's Personal Vision Of Pablo Picasso Gertrude Stein's novel Picasso shows the engagement of a great literary artist with that of a great artist of the canvas. It melds Stein's forceful, direct, and spare prose with the images of Picasso and images of the artists that inspired his work. Stein hoped to create images with her words, of childlike sparseness and clarity, a similar aim, she states, of Picasso's art.

Gertrude Stein Indeed. Gertrude Stein Wrote for
Words: 4312 Length: 12 Document Type: Term Paper

Gertrude Stein Indeed. Gertrude Stein wrote for "herself" for many years prior to ever being noticed as the marvelously talented and versatile writer that she was. That fact was a reality simply because she did not have the opportunity for many years to publish the work she was so tirelessly putting out. Meanwhile, her legacy today is that of an extraordinarily insightful and respected woman of letters, an innovator, an elite

Gertude Stein. Gertrude Stein It Is Difficult
Words: 1862 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Paper

Gertude Stein. Gertrude Stein It is difficult to think of 1920's Paris without recalling Gertrude Stein. A friend to some of the most prominent artists and writers of the 20th century, Stein is not only known for her own accomplished writing contributions, but also for her personal lifestyle. Gertrude Stein was born in 1874 near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She attended Radcliffe from 1893-1897, where she was a student of William James. One day

Modernism That Interests You Gertrude Stein and
Words: 992 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Modernism That Interests You Gertrude Stein and Modernism Gertrude Stein had been an American feminist, poet, playwright, writer, as well as, the means in the growth and expansion of modernism western art and prose. However, she had spent the majority of her life in France. If the term "modernism" stands for the need of an individual refusing earlier customs, as well as, by designing personal methods, creating compositions which have been

Gender and Artistic Representation: Four Examples From Gardner's...
Words: 1864 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Gardner's Art Through The Ages Gender in Western Art has been a vexed subject since the later twentieth century, not only in terms of artistic representation of gender, but also in terms of the gender of the artists themselves. With the rise of the feminist movement in America and elsewhere in the latter half of the twentieth century, art historians have been called to task for the relative lack of female

Museum Exhibition in New York
Words: 544 Length: 2 Document Type: Research Proposal

This exhibition shows the artists as young men struggling to make it on their own, showing the influences of their key friends including the Stein family. In addition to Picasso who would go on to become world known and the most famous of all artists living in the area of Paris Gertrude Stein was living at the time, Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec were also regular

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now