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Pablo Picasso. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. 1907.

Ground in Reserve

Picasso's economical integration of the ground layer into the composition is illustrated in these details.


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. 2 - Detail: Example of ground in reserve

Fig. 1

This detail shows how the ground was used as a contrast to the painted areas, even those that are painted white, providing a subtle and luminous sense of space in these passages.
 
Fig. 1 - Detail: Example of ground in reserve

Fig. 2

A photomicrograph of flesh-colored paint next to exposed ground, crouching figure's elbow, right edge.

 
Copyright 2003 The Museum of Modern Art