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Pablo Picasso. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. 1907.

Impasto Technique

These details show that Picasso used a comparatively rich oil paint, resulting in thick, impastoed passages throughout the various campaigns on this painting.


Pictured above:
Pablo Picasso. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. 1907. Oil on canvas, 8' x 7' 8" (243.9 x 233.7 cm). Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest. © 2003 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Fig. 1 - Detail: Example of impasto

Fig. 1

Taken in raking light to emphasize the topography of the paint, this detail illustrates that during the first campaign the thick paint retains the shape and texture of the brushstroke on the Iberian-style heads.

 
Fig. 2 - Detail: Example of impasto

Fig. 2

This detail illustrates Picasso's use of a thick paint during the final campaign. The shape and texture of these brushstrokes, while achieving a very different effect, remains close to those in the first campaign illustrated in Fig. 1.

 
Fig. 3 - Detail: Example of impasto

Fig. 3

In this detail of Fig. 2, note how the dry, impastoed paint skips along the surface and the sure handling of the line of the brushstroke.

 
Copyright 2003 The Museum of Modern Art