https://www.dropbox.com/s/h2phlk7emh166in/IMG_2744.JPG?dl=0

Picasso’s Les Demoiselles D’avignon is a perfect example of modernism and cubism. The oversized oil on canvas sprawled from floor to ceiling, is the largest Picasso work at MOMA. So much can be said about this painting, the figures, all-naked are all contorted in different ways. It isn’t clear if the figure on the left is male or female, although the note next to the work did say that it was intended to be a male but changed in the final version. Some of the women are wearing African masks, a reference to another one of Picasso’s interests and era’s. The piece’s name references a famed street in Barcelona known for its brothels, so it could be argued that the piece is depicting prostitutes. That would also explain why the man/women on the left is lurking around. However from a simultaneity perspective the piece is also very interesting, time and space seemed to be very blurred in this work. It is almost impossible to define whether the figures are standing up or lying down, they seemingly exist in both states simultaneously. In addition, depending on from which angle you are looking at the piece, it can either appear that the women are moving, or that they are completely still. Beyond the physical women, the idea of combining different objects, people, concepts, and images all fall within the idea of simultaneity and cubism. All in, Les Demoiselles D’avignon is a marvelous work that can truly be understood through the idea of simultaneity, which can be seen throughout the piece in many different ways.