Stravinsky And Picasso Essay

The twentieth century has seen great changes in the arts across all mediums. This paper will explore the modernity of Igor Stravinsky’s compositions and Pablo Picasso’s painting. Both of these men helped form their respective arts into the modern form that they now are today.

Igor Stravinsky was born near St. Petersburg, Russia in 1882. His father was a bass singer in the Imperial Opera, therefore he was well verse in music at an early age. He began piano lessons while a young boy and began to understand theory. He continued his studies at the University of St. Petersburg after deciding not to pursue law, as his parents wanted him to. Stravinsky's work is usually split into three general style periods: a Russian period, a Neoclassical period, and a Serial period.

The Russian Period was largely influenced by the Russian folk music. Sergei Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write scores for three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). These ballets have overtly Russian scenarios and focus on Russian folk lore. The Firebird was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 25 June 1910 by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Like Stravinsky's earlier student works, The Firebird is similar in style to works by Rimsky-Korsakov. It has similar orchestration, structure, harmonic organization and melodic content. Petrushka was also performed in Paris. This piece set in stone Stravinsky’s new reputation. The Rite of Spring is a very popular ballet performed in Paris originally. The piece reflects on the tribal roots of pagan Russian and examines the rituals which dealt with spring. Even though The Rite, like its predecessors, is comprised of a large amount of Russian folk elements, Stravinsky changes them...

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...nd’s death. As the artist himself said: "I began to paint in blue, when I realized that Casagemas had died" (Picasso). Picasso used to frequent the bar "Le Lapin Agile" where he met the poets Guillaume Apollinaire and Max Jacob. An interesting fact is that Picasso used his paintings as payment for the services at the bar. Some of the paintings that were on the bar walls for everyone to see were "Dans Le Lapin Agile" and "Woman with the Crow." By 1905 he added pink and rose, some shades of yellow and also gray colors. His figures also became more delicate and sensible. By 1906, Picasso sold most of his "rose period" work, which helped him to resolve his financial problems and gain some confidence back. In the same year, he traveled with his lover Fernande to Spain, where he painted "La Toilette." He also started to work with geometric forms during this time period.