The Fascinating Connection Between Jean-Michel Basquiat and Picasso
Diving into Pablo Picasso's influence on Basquiat.
Jean-Michel Basquiat and Pablo Picasso are two iconic and distinctive figures from vastly different backgrounds. Basquiat was part of the Neo-expressionism movement, while Picasso was heavily involved in cubism. However, they are actually much more connected than you might have expected. In this article, we will dive into how Picasso and primitivism played a vital role in shaping Basquiat’s aesthetics.
Jean-Michel Basquiat was exposed to art at a very young age. Since the age of just five, Basquiat and his mother would visit different museums around New York City. This introduced him to a diverse group of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Franz Kline, Claude Monet, and Jackson Pollock. Among all the artwork he encountered, Picasso’s “Guernica, 1937” at MoMA (Museum of Modern Arts) was one of his favorites, and the Spanish artist significantly influenced his art view moving forward.
Paying homage to the iconic artist, Basquiat painted two portraits of Picasso in 1984. Basquiat has done ample portraits throughout his career, but few are non-black figures, further indicating the importance of Picasso.
“Untitled (Young Picasso), 1984” features two side-by-side portraits of Picasso. Young Picasso was painted on the left based on a photo taken in 1896, while Old Picasso on the right was scribbled out. On the other hand, “Untitled (Pablo Picasso), 1984” depicts a vigorous Picasso in his iconic sailor-striped shirt with his hands up.
While Picasso and Basquiat specialize in different art styles, they share a similar underlying theme of primitivism. Inspired by the tribal art of Africa, Oceania, and Asia, primitive art often uses simpler shapes and more abstract figures, drastically different from traditional European realism paintings.
Primitivism played an important role in both artist’s career. For instance, Picasso’s African Period from 1906 to 1909 was heavily inspired by African sculptures, masks, and ancient Egyptian art. The bold and distinctive looks of these exotic artworks opened up a whole new avenue for artists to explore and experiment.
Picasso’s paintings from this period, most notably “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907”, meaningfully influenced Basquiat decades later.
For instance, the facial composition in “Untitled, 1984” is heavily reminiscent of Picasso’s “Head of a Woman, 1907”. You will find exaggerated triangular noses and circular eyes in both paintings, with minimal shapes and lines being used.
In other Basquiat paintings such as “Ancient Scientist, 1987”, you will easily discover explicit influences of African masks, shown through the simple dotted eyes and bold yellow lines. As a matter of fact, African Masks have also been a major source of inspiration for Pablo Picasso during his African Period.
Besides African art, Ancient Egyptian art is another notable source of inspiration shown across multiple paintings from both artists. The most direct reference can be found in Basquiat’s “Untitled (Geese+), 1984”, as shown above.
The upper part of the painting depicts the goose in “Meidum Geese”, a 4600-year-old painting discovered on the tomb of Nefermaat and Itet. This renowned painting is often referred to as ‘Egypt’s Mona Lisa’.
On the bottom half, you will find two symbolic Ancient Egyptian figures alongside Basquiat’s iconic crown and motifs. Similar Ancient Egyptian-style figures have also appeared in Picasso’s paintings, such as in “Couple Et Voyageuse, 1968”.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, cited in Basquiat: Boom For Real
“I get my facts from books, stuff on atomizers, the blues, ethyl alcohol, geese in Egyptian glyphs… I don’t take credit for my facts. The facts exist without me.”
Basquiat’s aesthetics are heavily derived from graffiti (as mentioned in the previous article), but Picasso and primitivism brought another unique dimension to his artwork. While there are certainly other influences, they undoubtedly played an important role in Basquiat’s development as an artist.
The connection between Jean-Michel Basquiat and Pablo Picasso is extremely fascinating, and it is amazing to see how art transcends through time.
Do you know why Basquiat scratched out the face of "Old Picasso"?
Picasso and Braque invented Cubism.
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm#:~:text=Cubism%20was%20one%20of%20the,Paris%20between%201907%20and%201914.