[Republicanprofessor]

Yes, Lady Jag, it is fascinating. I wish I could have read the rest of the article. The different psychological interpretations of Picasso's Girl before the Mirror (posted early in the article) are wide-ranging. I think today my college students often see her as (unwillingly) pregnant.

Ping list, here we go.

Art Ping. Let Sam Cree or me know if you want on or off this list.

[Republicanprofessor]

At the risk of sounding like a hopeless academic, I have done a few essays on Free Republic on the development of abstract art. You can see Cezanne, Braque and Picasso in these threads.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1419876/posts on Cezanne and van Gogh

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1427099/posts on the development of Cubism

You are right, all of this began in the nineteenth century, although some might even say that the flattening process (which ultimately led to Picasso and Pollock) began with Manet and his Picnic.

I did just see Pollock's One at the Museum of Modern Art, and the power in his large, great pieces never ceases to amaze me. Not all of them are great, but when he strikes it right, it is wonderful.

When I was there, a German couple were also sitting on the bench, studying it and discussing it in German. I wished I'd understood what they were saying.