les demoiselles d'avignon (the young ladies of avignon) was a 1907 cubist painting by picasso. it represents five women in a brothel. it took him nine months to paint it. picasso gave up all attempts at traditional painting in this early cubist painting. he distorted the female figures in a way that showed the influence of african art. when the painting was shown in his studio to a group of painters and critics, they were outraged. henri matisse called it a hoax and an attempt to paint the fourth dimension, the art critic andré salmon wrote: "it was the ugliness of the faces that froze with horror the half-converted". another painter, andré derain, wrote: "one day we shall find pablo has hanged himself behind his great canvas". it has been called one of the most significant paintings of the 20th century. the two figures on the right are shown with african mask-like features, an interest of picasso at the time.