Jason Zappulla

Pd. 7

Compare and Contrast Essay #15

There are noteworthy similarities between Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by

Pablo Picasso, and The Portuguese by Georges Braque. Both use a more

abstract and less-realistic style. Also, both paintings have a sense of being

fractured, with a lack of cohesiveness and organization. In addition, both

works are related to the Cubist style. Both works are oil-on-canvas paintings.

Lastly, both works use angular designs and shapes.

However, there are also important differences between Les Demoiselles

d'Avignon and The Portuguese. Les Demoiselles is more realistic, as you can

clearly see the images of the women; in The Portuguese, you cannot discern

any sort of image or object like what is seen in real life. Related to this, Les

Demoiselles d'Avignon is more proto-Cubist, while The Portuguese is a full-

fledged Cubist work. Picassos work is more colorful and vibrant (containing

bright reds and blues), while Braques piece comes off as a monochromatic

and dreary (consisting almost entirely of browns and blacks). Finally, Braque

more rigidly adheres to ideas of geometric shapes and fracture; Picassos

work, though still containing these elements, is more open to partial realism

and less geometric shapes, much like what is seen in the works of pre-

Cubists like Cezanne and Gaugin.