Philip Dodd and guests explore Pablo Picasso's 1907 work Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which would become arguably the most important painting of the century. Picasso portrayed five prostitutes gazing out at the viewer, their faces terrifyingly bold and solicitous, apparently inspired by African and Oceanic carvings that he had seen in Parisian museums.
Playlist
Tonight on Night Waves Landmark Philip Dodd is joined by the artist Tom Phillips and the writer and critic Peggy Reynolds to discuss a work of art that has been called the first and greatest masterpiece of modern art. Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon was painted 100 years ago this year, and in Night Waves tonight we celebrate the centenary of the 8ft square canvass depicting five naked women looking boldly back at the viewer. No wonder Picasso initially called the painting The Philosophical Brothel. Somehow in this one painting Picasso was able to redefine what artists mean by perspective, the necessity for narrative and the possibility of the nude, as well as creating one of the most mesmeric icons of the twentieth century.
