Preparing for Exploration
Discover the transformative power of art in ‘Picasso in Fontainebleau’ a pivotal period in the artist’s life and 20th-century art.
While the artworks Picasso produced in Fontainebleau didn’t directly influence business transformations, such as ‘The Bull’ which was crucial for Apple’s success (1), they may inspire leaders to use art as a tool to stimulate stakeholders to think differently within traditional management methodologies.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), born in Malaga, Spain, was a prolific and versatile artist. His career, spanning various artistic phases – from Realism to Cubism, from Neo-Classicism to Surrealism – was characterized by fearless innovation, even during periods of tremendous success.
At the age of 41, Picasso spent the transformative summer of 1921 in the charming town of Fontainebleau, near Paris, home to the renowned INSEAD Business School.
Picture this scene – Picasso, with his wife Olga Khokhlova, a former leading Russian ballet dancer born in Northern Ukraine during the Russian Empire, and their newborn son Paulo, resided in a rented villa in Fontainebleau with an improvised studio in the garage.
This unconventional studio space became a sanctuary of transformation. Inspired by his desire to depict his wife Olga in a more classical style, and influenced by ancient Roman and Greek art during a visit to Rome, Picasso notably shifted to Neo-classicism from Cubism. (for more detail about Picasso´s artistic phases, please refer to the Artcipation Article: “Picasso Artistic Life: A Source of Inspiration for Business Leadership”).
(1) Please read the Artcipation Article “Picasso decisive impact on Apple´s Success: a Bull, a Mouse and Three Principles”
Picasso also welcomed illustrious visitors like Jean Cocteau, a renowned poet, filmmaker, and visual artist, and Igor Stravinsky, a famous composer and conductor, within these walls, demonstrating the power of diverse collaboration in fueling innovation.
Among their remarkable collaborations, Picasso and Jean Cocteau co-created the groundbreaking avant-garde ballet ‘Parade’ in 1917, where Picasso met Olga. With Stravinsky, Picasso produced the influential ballet ‘Pulcinella’ in 1920, leaving an indelible mark on modern art and music.
The Artworks produces
The Fontainebleau journey marked a redefinition of boundaries, highlighting Picasso’s evolution from Analytical Cubism to Synthetic Cubism, followed by his transition into the Neo-classical style.
During his stay in Fontainebleau, Picasso created numerous paintings, drawings, pastels, and etchings, offering a glimpse into his world – his studio, family life, and his process of experimentation and transformation between phases and styles.
Among the artworks produced, two monumental masterpieces stand out, portraying the breaking of conventions and possessing outstanding artistic value: ‘Three Women at the Spring’ and ‘Three Musicians’.
“Three Musicians”
“Three Musicians”, a sizable artwork measuring 200.7 x 222.9 cm (79 x 87.8 in), presents a symphony of forms and colors, an unmissable masterpiece.
The composition, from left to right, features a Pierrot playing a clarinet, a Harlequin with a guitar, and a singing monk holding music sheets.
Picasso favored Commedia dell’Arte characters like Pierrot, the clown with his white face and conical hat, and the Harlequin, with his vibrant, diamond-patterned costume, due to their unique costumes, masks, and exaggerated human traits.
The three figures likely represent Picasso’s inner circle of friends: Pierrot, symbolizing sadness and melancholy feelings, may represent the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who tragically succumbed to the Spanish Flu in 1918; the Harlequin, symbolizing playfulness and versatility, might serve as Picasso’s artistic alter ego; the singing monk, a distinctive character, that symbolizes spirituality and tradition, may represent the poet Max Jacob, who entered a monastery in 1921 (1).
The three figures exude energy, with vibrant, shadowless red, blue, and yellow colors contrasting against the dark background, creating the illusion of them leaping from the canvas.
To complete the painting description, a delightful and intriguing detail remains: a hidden dog, revealing Picasso’s affection for his dachshund, Lump.
This painting and its symbols can evoke contemplation on the light and dark aspects of life, encompassing themes of loyalty, joy, sorrow, and loss. These resonances may also find relevance in the journey of a business leader.
From an artistic style perspective, “The Three Musicians” exemplifies Picasso’s groundbreaking transition from Analytical Cubism to the innovative realm of Synthetic Cubism.
Analytical Cubism
Picasso’s painting employs the structural principle of Analytical Cubism. He dissects objects into geometric shapes, presenting a three-dimensional object through multiple views from various angles on a (two-dimensional) canvas.
The fragmented figures, overlapped planes, geometric forms, and shadowless colors challenge the conventional methods of realistically depicting three-dimensional objects on a canvas, offering a unique perspective that challenges the viewer’s perception.
In simpler terms, Cubism can be likened to a painter circling a cube, dismantled it by its faces, and reassembled them in a flattened composition on the canvas.
Furthermore, by emphasizing essential aspects through the selection of specific parts and angles, he distanced it from realism, pushing art’s limits and ushering in a new era of expression. For instance, Picasso´s deliberate use of disproportioned small hands, minimizes their importance, emphasizes the overall geometric arrangement and directs attention to other elements like the musicians’ instruments and the music sheets.
Synthetic Cubism
“Three Musicians” testifies Picasso’s evolution from Analytical into Synthetic Cubism by introducing vibrant colors, enhancing recognition of figures, and incorporating collages — characteristics absent in Analytical Cubism.”
Collage elements such as patterned paper and sheet music are pasted onto the canvas, adding texture, depth, and space to the artwork.
This shift to Synthetic Cubism enabled Picasso to create larger, more decorative paintings with a very practical advantage: oil paintings could be sold at higher prices.
(1) Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) was a French poet, writer, and art critic who played a significant role in the development of modern art and literature in the early 20th century.
(1) Max Jacob (1876-1944) was a French poet, writer, and artist known for his contributions to early 20th-century avant-garde literature and art movements.
“Three Women at the Spring”
“Three Women at the Spring” (1921), a monumental canvas (204 x 174 cm | 7 x 5.5 in), showcases Picasso’s inroad into Neo-Classicism and departure from cubist abstraction.
The painting’s composition and style evoke classical Roman and Greek art, with idealized human forms, harmony and mythological scenes—a hallmark of the 20th-century neoclassical movement.
Picasso reinterprets the classical trio of women that frequently symbolizes the Three Graces in Greek mythology, a prevalent theme in classical art. Portrayed as sisters representing life’s virtues: gracefulness (Aglaia), happiness (Euphrosyne), and festivity (Thalia).
The painting depicts the women gathered at a water source in a rocky background, highlighting their sculpted profiles and bold lines reminiscent of Hellenistic art (2).
The rocky background contrasts with clothing resembling marble, marked by bold folds that create a sense of movement and depth, while also evoking a sense of strength reminiscent of ancient columns. The women’s terracotta skin, resembling earthenware vessels, symbolizes harmony and unity with their surroundings.
(2) Hellenic art refers to the ancient Greek artistic style characterized by harmony, balance, and idealized forms.
Picasso’s deviations from classical art norms
Picasso’s divergence from classical art norms is exemplified in various dimensions, including theme, figure portrayal, forms, and color choices:
| Classical Art Norms | Picasso´s Neoclassical Norms |
| Theme is a departure from traditional mythological or religious subjects | Theme is more abstract and open to interpretation |
| Figures, well-proportioned and idealized beauty | Unconventional proportions and unique beauty |
| Established rules of balance and symmetry | Dynamic and asymmetrical |
| Colors to depict figures realistically | Colors to convey emotion and energy |
| Subdued and earthy tones, to create a sense of harmony and balance | Contrast and vibrant colors, contribute to a modern aesthetic. |
| Figures portrayed lifelike and three-dimensional | Figures distort and simplify, adopting angular, unconventional shapes |
Three Women at a Spring” exemplifies Picasso’s mastery in blending innovation with Classical Art elements, resulting in striking and harmonious compositions. It reflects his versatility, commitment to innovation—especially during triumphant phases like the Cubist era—and profound knowledge of art and literature.
Business Leadership Insights
It is an intriguing coincidence that Picasso’s creativity and transformation was also sparked in a garage, much like many startups much later like Apple and HP. His stay in Fontainebleau, a stone’s throw from the prestigious INSEAD Business School, adds yet another layer to this coincidence.
As previously mentioned, Picasso’s Fontainebleau art had limited direct business impact, unlike his artwork ‘The Bull’, pivotal in shaping Apple’s success. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the two Masterpieces produced during that period inspires business leaders in their pursuit of new perspectives and innovative stakeholder engagement.
Picasso’s artistic life at Fontainebleau serves as an inspiring model for business leaders:
The Need for Periodic Rejuvenation
Picasso embraced courageous change amidst success by cultivating profound knowledge, engaging with the best and most innovative in diverse fields, and intentionally taking time off for long-term vision and promoting disruptive innovation.
These principles serve as invaluable reminders for leaders and endure in the era of AI transformation.
Additionally, the ‘Three Musicians’ and ‘Three Women at the Spring’ paintings can enhance the effectiveness of traditional Management methodologies by serving as additives to stimulate and inspire leaders in enriching brainstorming content and solutions.
Investor letter case
For instance, by infusing business principles with inspiration from Picasso’s “Three Musicians” painting, I guided a young entrepreneur running an AI-led content platform in re-crafting an impactful investor letter.
He showed the traditional tendency to narrowly focus on a company’s competitive advantages, limited to areas directly related to customers, finances, or technology, similar to how a realist painter depicts a figure from a single angle view.
The painting ‘Three Musicians’ stimulated and inspired him to examine his company from various dimensions and angles, ultimately revealing hidden assets such as a highly automated back office and a thriving community that demonstrated industry leadership. These assets held the potential for significant value, especially for a Private Equity firm with investments in similar types of platforms.
He then refined the letter’s focus, mirroring the painting, to create the impression that his core advantages leapt from the page. This involved eliminating unnecessary redundancies and secondary elements, while also minimizing vital but undifferentiated information—echoing Picasso’s approach to ‘small hands’ in the painting.
M&A Operations
You can apply a similar approach to attract buyers in M&A, stimulating a three-dimensional “cubism” analysis to identify undervalued assets in the seller’s company that strengthen the buyer’s business model.
Presentations
This method is also effective in crafting and presenting speeches for stakeholders, inspiring you to recognize and emphasize crucial components.
Harmonizing Innovation with Legacy: Crafting a Robust Company
The “Three Women at the Spring” painting, when integrated into a business methodology, can inspire business leaders to adopt a “company holistic (Canvas as a Whole) perspective” in implementing structural business innovations like AI technology initiatives. It also emphasizes the importance of aligning these innovations with valuable legacy assets to create a harmonious and successful company that engages and motivates stakeholders.
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Jose Taboada – Corporate Strategist | Founder of Artcipation
Key Sources: Museum of Modern Art, Picasso Administration, Christies
© 2024 Artcipation
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