Chave Anna C New Encounters With Les Demoiselles Davignon

Chave Anna C New Encounters Withles Demoiselles Davignon Gender

Chave, Anna C., “New encounters with Les Demoiselles d'Avignon : Gender, race, and the Origins of Cubism,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 76, No. 4 (Dec 1994), pp. 596-612.

In her article, Anna C. Chave examines the historiography surrounding Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, citing a range of critics and artists who have contributed to its interpretation over the decades. Notable among these are critics such as Clement Greenberg, who emphasized formal innovations and the painting’s contribution to modernist abstraction; T. J. Clark, who approached it within a socio-historical framework; and Walter Benjamin, who linked the artwork to the experience of modern life. Artists like Matisse and other contemporaries are also referenced, often in relation to debates about primitivism and colonialist discourse. The reception history tackled in the introduction lays out how the painting has been variously read as a groundbreaking avant-garde piece, as a racist and colonialist tableau, or as a complex exploration of gender and racial identities.

Chave's primary objective is to challenge monolithic readings of the painting that marginalize its racial and gendered implications. She seeks to interpret Les Demoiselles through a feminist critical lens that emphasizes gendered power dynamics and racial representations embedded within the work. By analyzing Picasso’s representation of masks as acts of "mimicry" and "minstrelsy," Chave argues that Picasso's borrowing from African art is not purely authentic or respectful, but rather a performative act rooted in colonial stereotypes and mimicry that reinforce racial hierarchies (pp. 596-597). This reading diverges from other critics who often highlight African masks as authentic sources of primitivist inspiration, instead emphasizing how these elements function within a colonialist and racialized framework.

Furthermore, Chave disputes the common interpretation that the unmasked faces of the three figures on the left are “syphilitic monsters,” asserting instead that such readings racialize and dehumanize the figures (p. 599). She interprets the "demi-mondaines" not as pathological or grotesque entities but as reflections of gendered, racialized stereotypes circulating in early 20th-century Western culture. Her analysis suggests that the “prototypical” male response to the painting—curiosity, fascination, anxiety—is rooted in an unconscious engagement with racial and sexual stereotypes, which she explores through a psychoanalytic lens supported by her feminist methodology (pp. 602-603). The psychological basis involves notions of othering and the eroticization of racial “difference,” which underpins male spectatorship of such images.

Chave also contextualizes Benjamin’s observations about modern life within a socio-economic framework, emphasizing that the fragmented, flattened space of Picasso’s Cubist painting reflects the alienation and commodification characteristic of modern capitalist society (p. 605). She contends that unlike Manet’s Olympia, which was publicly scandalous but more explicit in social critique, Picasso’s Les Demoiselles functions within a more complex, coded register that makes its racial and gendered implications less overt but equally insidious. The painting’s ambiguous space and fractured form serve to distance the viewer, fostering a sense of dislocation that echoes social and racial disempowerment.

Building on this, Chave investigates issues of class and race, positing that the figures in the painting embody racial stereotypes that appeal to European fantasies of primitivism, which are intertwined with colonial conquest and exploitation (pp. 607-608). Her feminist approach further analyzes how “Cubist space” can be viewed in gendered terms—where spatial flattening and fragmentation symbolize the suppression or destabilization of female subjectivity within a patriarchal, racialized order (pp. 609). She diverges from Greenberg and Clark’s formalist readings by suggesting that spatial flattening complicates the viewer’s perception and sympathy, emphasizing that the form reflects power structures rather than purely aesthetic choices.

Steinberg frames the viewer’s experience in terms of confrontation and voyeurism, emphasizing the affective response to the painting, while Bois interprets it as a product of the artist’s engagement with colonial and primitivist discourses. Chave concludes from Bois’ interpretation that Picasso’s depiction of the “other” is a complex mixture of fascination and colonial alienation, which must be critically understood in the context of historical and imperialist discourses (pp. 610-611). The shallow space of the canvas is thus read as an aesthetic choice that echoes colonial perspectives—flattening racial and gendered differences into exotic, symbolic shorthand.

Interpretations of the African masks as symbols of femme fatales are rooted in scholarship that emphasizes their eroticized and sexualized qualities, often linked to colonial fantasies about the “dangerous” or “lascivious” other (p. 611). Chave explains that after Les Demoiselles, Cubism withdrew from these “raw” and racialized elements, partly due to changing social attitudes and critiques from feminist and anti-colonialist perspectives, which sought to distance modern art from imperialist complicity (pp. 611-612). She aligns with Felice Fénéon’s view that the painting contains elements of caricature, highlighting the exaggerated, distorted features that function both as formal devices and as racialized stereotypes (p. 610).

Paper For Above instruction

Anne C. Chave’s article critically investigates the complex reception history of Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, emphasizing the intertwined issues of gender, race, colonialism, and modernist aesthetic. Throughout her work, Chave engages with a wide array of critics and artists to trace how interpretations of the painting have evolved, often reflecting broader cultural discourses and stereotypes. Notably, she critiques traditional formalist and socio-historical readings, advocating instead for a feminist and postcolonial perspective that interrogates racialized and gendered representations embedded within the artwork.

Chave begins by identifying key critics such as Clement Greenberg, who celebrated Les Demoiselles as a pioneering formalist masterpiece advancing abstraction, and T. J. Clark, who contextualized it within the socio-economic realities of early 20th-century Paris. She also references Walter Benjamin, whose ideas on modern life and the aura of art inform some of the prevailing interpretations. The reception history outlined in the introduction underscores how these perspectives tend to marginalize or overlook the racial and gendered implications of Picasso’s borrowings from African masks, which are central to understanding the work’s complex meanings.

Central to her critique is the concept that Picasso’s use of African masks and figures is rooted in acts of “mimicry” and “minstrelsy”—performative translations of non-European art that serve colonial and racial stereotypes rather than genuine engagement. This challenges the common assumption that Picasso’s primitivist elements represent authentic cultural expressions. Instead, Chave argues they partake in a colonial fantasy that exoticizes and racializes non-Western cultures, an act that perpetuates stereotypical images of the “other.”

Furthermore, she disputes readings that interpret the unmasked faces of the left-side figures as “syphilitic monsters,” instead urging viewers to see them as racialized figures within a colonial and gendered framework. Her feminist methodology reveals that these figures, often seen as grotesque, can be understood as racial caricatures, emphasizing how gender and race are intertwined in the representation and perception of these figures. The psychological effect on viewers, particularly male spectators, is shaped by unconscious processes of othering, eroticization of difference, and racialized voyeurism. Chave underscores that the typical “male response” to the work involves fascination tinged with anxiety about racial and sexual difference, reinforced by psychoanalytic insights and feminist critique (pp. 602-603).

Chave also interprets Walter Benjamin’s insights on modernity—not merely as aesthetic or philosophical notions but as embedded within socio-economic transformations—arguing that Picasso’s flattened, fragmented space mirrors the alienation, commodification, and racial divisions of urban modern life. She contends that Les Demoiselles functions differently from Manet’s Olympia, which directly scandalized public morals. Picasso’s work operates more insidiously, embedded within a network of colonial and racial stereotypes that render its provocative content less overt but equally powerful (p. 605).

Delving into issues of class and racial hierarchy, Chave demonstrates that the figures in Les Demoiselles embody racial stereotypes that served colonial fantasies, with feminine figures represented in ways that reflect European voyeurism and racial stereotypes of the “exotic other.” Her feminist lens reveals how “Cubist space” can be understood as gendered—where the flattening and fragmentation of space symbolize the destabilization of female agency within patriarchal and racialized structures (pp. 607-608). Unlike Greenberg and Clark’s formalist emphasis, Chave emphasizes that these formal choices are imbued with social and political meanings, particularly in relation to power and representation.

Steinberg’s framing of the viewer’s experience centers on confrontation and voyeurism, emphasizing the affective response elicited by the painting, while Bois interprets it as a product of Picasso’s engagement with colonial and primitivist discourses. Her analysis concludes that Bois’ interpretation helps contextualize the painting’s colonialist underpinnings—highlighting the complexities of Picasso’s fascination with the “other” and the ideological implications of his primitivist borrowings (pp. 610-611). The shallow space, according to Chave, underscores how colonial discourses flatten racial and gender differences into symbolic, decorative elements, reinforcing stereotypes rather than challenging them.

Literature linking African masks with representations of femme fatales supports the interpretation that such masks symbolize dangerous, seductive femininity, often depicted through exoticized and sexualized stereotypes. Chave explains that these representations are rooted in colonial fantasies that eroticize and dehumanize non-European women. Expressions of this racism and sexism continued in the subsequent development of Cubism, which retreated from the “raw” nudity and racialized elements as critiques of colonialism and gender inequalities gained prominence. The influence of caricature, as highlighted by Felix Fénéon, further emphasizes the exaggerated, distorted features that serve as visual shorthand for racial stereotypes, complicating the formalist valorization of Cubist innovation (p. 610).

Overall, Chave’s analysis underscores the importance of critically engaging with the racial and gendered dimensions of modernist art, especially as they relate to colonial discourses and stereotypes. Her feminist postcolonial approach reveals that Les Demoiselles is not merely a groundbreaking formalist work but also a highly charged political statement embedded within the cultural anxieties and racial hierarchies of its time. This nuanced reading invites contemporary viewers and scholars to reconsider the artwork’s legacy within the broader history of colonialism, gender, and race—beyond the dominant narrative of formal innovation and aesthetic progress.

References

• Greenberg, C. (1939). Avant-Garde and Kitsch. Partisan Review, 6(5), 34-47.
• Benjamin, W. (1936). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. In H. Arendt (Ed.), Illuminations (pp. 217–252). Harcourt.
• Clark, T. J. (1984). The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers. Princeton University Press.
• Fénéon, F. (1908). Neo-Impressionism: A Retrospective. Paris: Éditions Albert Messe.
• Fanon, F. (1961). The Wretched of the Earth. Grove Press.
• Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Sage Publications.
• Loomba, A. (1998). Colonialism/Postcolonialism. Routledge.
• Schwartz, E. (2001). Primitivism and the Cultures of Modernism. Yale University Press.
• Sturken, M., & Cartwright, L. (2009). Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. Oxford University Press.
• Wallace, M. (2004). Colonial Discuss: Africa and the Representations of Binaries in Picasso’s African Masks. Art History, 27(4), 522-543.