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Picasso's Family Of Saltimbanques

Decent Essays

Suggestive of a covert portrait of Picasso and his group, the poverty and isolation in Family of Saltimbanques (La Famille de Saltimbanques) is clearly evident. Picasso frequented the Cirque Médrano in Montmartre and greatly admired the performers. For Picasso, the wandering saltimbanques (a kind of circus performer) represented the neglected lower class, whom he must have identified with as an avant-garde artist. Picasso and the saltimbanques had to work hard and strove for recognition in spite of being outsiders, practicing their trades their entire lives. Fully integrating himself in his work, the setting is reminiscent of Picasso’s homeland, Spain. The desolate landscape background, empty except for the figures, serves as a stark reminder

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