Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907)
Like in The Weeping Woman, there can be themes of monstrosity and uncertainty found in Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. Clearest are the women on the far right who represent monstrosity through their mask like faces and also in the fear they represent. Underlying the whole painting as well is a startling female sexuality which contrasts from other paintings which represent women as purer and innocent. Female sexuality is a subject matter that has been present in our class, especially when considering the conquest of the new world and Maria de Zayas' stories, and Picasso brings those questions to the streets of Madrid. The sexuality itself is is not antagonized rather the jarring way it is represented through the male gaze is where the issue arises and where the question is asked of whether the women themselves are monstrous or the way men see them. Picasso’s cubist style is at its peak in this painting and the ambiguity in the shape and intent of the figures in the painting it as alluring as it is startling.