Femmes d’Alger, a Space for Enchantment
by Bernadette Caille
Summary
- >> The fascination of artists and power in the 19th century with the Orient
- >> Delacroix’s trip to Morocco in 1832: a revelation
- >> At the Louvre, Picasso meets Delacroix
- >> Like Delacroix, the freedom to paint
- >> For Picasso, like Delacroix, the beauty and torments of Algeria
- >> In the shoes of the great masters of painting
- >> Femmes d'Alger, between appropriation and fruitful imagination
- >> Going beyond the obviousness of the readable, Picasso’s insertion into the history of art
- >> Picasso’s universe: a vast solitude
Femmes d’Alger turned out to be the catalyst for a series completed between November 1954 and February 1955. Picasso admired Delacroix, particularly for having managed to claim a certain freedom in his painting and reject the tedious academic rigidity that prevailed at the time. In the course of their respective lives, through the endless search for new modes of expression, showing a strong commitment, they shared a certain irreverence towards tradition, which they both respected nonetheless.