Picasso and Boucher

The two distinct pieces under analysis here are Pablo Picasso's PORTRAIT OF GERTRUDE STEIN (STEIN) and Francois Boucher's THE TOILET OF VENUS (VENUS). The paintings are vastly different in terms of style, subject matter, color, and mood. The works are similar in terms of materials and size. STEIN is an oil on canvas and measures 39 3/8 by 32 in., while VENUS is also oil on canvas and measures 36 by 48 in. (Picasso; Boucher 1; 1). The subject matter is very different in these works. They both depict famous individuals but one actually lived and one is a myth. STEIN is a portrait of Picasso's human friend writer Gertrude Stein, a work of somber colors mostly composed in shades of white, black and muted reds. VENUS is a portrait of the Greek goddess of love, Venus. While STEIN depicts a contemplative almost somber image of the writer, VENUS shows an indecorous scene of a nude Venus surrounded by doves and cupids to symbolize love. In VENUS flowers refer to her position as patroness of gardens and her pearls symbolize her sea origins. The lines in Picasso are geometric an

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Category: Philosophy - P