In this artwork, how is the Description discussed?
The subject of the painting is a young girl who was working as a flower seller, but also probably as a teenage child prostitute. She is depicted naked, save for pink ribbons in her dark hair and a necklace, and she is holding a basket of red flowers, all painted with simplified lines and flattened blocks of colour. Her silhouette against the blue background appears awkward and her expression is troubled. The painting is signed "Picasso" on the upper right corner, and again signed, dated and inscribed "Picasso 1905 13 Rue Ravignan" on the reverse. It measures 154.8 cm × 66.1 cm (60.9 in × 26.0 in).According to Christie’s, Picasso referred to the girl as "Linda", which translates as "pretty", which could have been a nickname. Her identity and life story remain a mystery. It was reported by John Richardson in his exhibition catalogue for the Late Picasso exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London in 1988 (p. 340), based on the writings of Jean-Paul Crespelle, that the subject was called "Linda la Bouquetière", from the Place du Tertre, and she worked outside the Moulin Rouge. She also worked as an artist's model; in addition to Picasso, she was painted by Kees van Dongen and Amedeo Modigliani.
Picasso's painting of "Linda" displays elements of Egyptian art and classicism. Picasso was greatly inspired by the work of the French Neoclassical painter Ingres. This influence can be seen in the awkward side silhouette of the girl, which is reminiscent of ancient Egyptian art. However, the portrait of the girl is realistic rather than an idealised image of a goddess. Her figure is conveyed using simple curves and minimal detail, yet her face is given a more realistic expression.Many of Picasso's paintings of this period combine conflicting elements of innocence and experience. In Young Girl with a Flower Basket, the stark contrast between the whiteness of the child's skin and the bright red colour of the flowers in her basket has been considered to be a juxtaposition of chastity and sexuality and of innocence and corruption. Picasso's classical rendering of "Linda" was designed to convey an aura of purity that contrasts starkly with the harsh reality of her existence. An earlier pen and ink sketch suggests Picasso originally planned to paint the girl in a white dress, as if attending her first communion, with the red flowers symbolising the blood of the Eucharist. This theme is also exhibited in Garçon à la pipe, the subject of which was described by Picasso as an "evil angel". Like Linda's basket of red flowers, he wears a garland of roses to symbolise the blood of the Eucharist. Both paintings describe the transition from youth to maturity and innocence to experience.
Garçon à la pipe first communion Kees van Dongen Amedeo Modigliani Eucharist classicism Place du Tertre Jean-Paul Crespelle child prostitute Egyptian art Moulin Rouge John Richardson Ingres pen and ink