330 Lunch with Picasso

This class will explore the basis for Picasso’s stature as a 20c. icon by identifying his motivation, his achievements, his idiosyncrasies and contradictions, and his place in the development of modern art. Each week we will explore and discuss a theme which contributed to significant works and issues which shaped his creative development. We will look at the evolution of his most significant early work Les Demoiselles D’Avignon; his competitive relationship with Henri Matisse; his connection to the figurative works of Delacroix and Degas; his influence on American artists such as Pollock and Gorky; and his fascination with the poetic imagery of Ovid’s Metamorphosis. The ultimate objective of this class, therefore, is to develop an appreciation for Picasso’s legacy, to discover a more expansive view of defining visual art works, and to uncover the nature of the creative spirit that inspires visual expression.