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Arts & Communication Correlations between artworks and contacts

Table 1. Individuals referenced in several Picasso biographies by verifying certain known biographical correlations,
in the specific time periods between 1901 and 1906 such as the influence of the suicide of his friend, Carles
Casagemas, in the emergence of the Blue Period; or the
Individuals Years Description and notes impact of his first serious love relation, Fernande Olivier,
Casagemas, Germaine, 1901 Friend, lover, artist, and on the Rose Period. Other established correlations pertain
Matisse, Vollard dealer to the appearance of certain collectors or dealers. Our
Casagemas 1900 – 1904 Trigger of Blue Period analysis has determined that such connections do exist
Vollard, Casagemas 1901 Timing of Blue Period and has confirmed the following facts often reported in the
Fernande 1905 Trigger of Rose Period literature:
Matisse 1905 – 1906 Timing of Rose Period i. Respective influence of Casagemas, Germaine,
Matisse versus 1905 – 1906 Contemporary versus Matisse, Vollard (1901) (friend, lover, artist, dealer).
Gauguin older, transition period ii. Influence of Casagemas (1900 – 1904) (Trigger of Blue
Stein 1903 – 1906 Writer Period)
iii. Respective influence of Vollard, Casagemas (1901)
primarily in the second half of the year, in relation to (Timing of Blue Period)
the major exhibition at his gallery. iv. Influence of Fernande (1905) (Trigger of Rose Period)
ii. All references examined mention the date February 1, v. Influence of Matisse (1905 – 1906) (Timing of Rose
when Picasso had an important exhibition at Els Period)
Quatre Gats. Casagemas had exhibited there before. vi. Respective influence of Matisse vs. Gauguin
All references mention end-September when Picasso (1905 – 1906) (Transition Period)
and Casagemas traveled to Paris for the first time. All vii. Influence of Stein (1903 – 1906) (Writer)
biographies report on the letter Picasso and Casagemas It is an interesting fact that the better an artist is
sent to their friend in Barcelona, informing him of known, the more biographies are dedicated to him/her,
their progress in Paris. One biographical reference is which is the case for Pablo Picasso. One would expect
more focused exclusively on Casagemas and therefore that everything that needed to be told about his life has
skips some events that the other references mention already been said. However, biographies of the artist
for Picasso.
iii. Despite including fewer events for 1901, one of the continue to be published. From very early on, there were
references mentions Picasso’s dealer Vollard more people close to him that were interested in reporting what
often than two of the other biographies examined. they knew about his life. Another aspect that we have
Despite including fewer events for 1901, the reference explored is the variation between different biographers
also mentions Picasso’s friend Casagemas more often with respect to what, in principle, should be “objective
than the other two. Surprisingly, that same biography facts,” such as dates of travel to a given location, specific
does not mention Picasso’s lover Fernande as often as encounters, etc. We have observed that certain events or
the other two. individuals are mentioned less frequently or not at all by
iv. Finally, there is an increase in the events related to some biographers. This can be attributed, in many cases,
Gauguin from 1905 to 1906 in book references, for to recognized biases in certain authors, often stemming
example, Life of Picasso: Volume I by Richardson . from their personal relationships with the artist. It is
[20]
This corresponds to Picasso’s stronger influence on known that Picasso was interested in keeping some of the
the detriment of Matisse in 1906. Surprisingly, Roe facts of his life away from the public.
includes quite a few events related to Gauguin in In this paper, we have described a work in progress.
1906, although it does not mention Gauguin in the Our future work on this topic will focus on reporting the
title of the book: In Montmartre: Picasso, Matisse differences in Picasso’s biographies. The question that
and Modernism in Paris 1900-1910 . However, we will address is: Since all of Picasso’s biographers are
[21]
Richardson and Roe only coincide in three of the writing about the same individual, shouldn’t the events,
events they mentioned in 1906. places, people, and artworks they mention coincide? The
fact of the matter is that they do not. Deviations occur
4. Conclusions in all these areas, whether they are related to time frame,
For such a biographical artist as Pablo Picasso, exploring location, or the mention of certain individuals or specific
the correlation between specific individuals or events artworks. Overall, our goal is to arrive at classification and
in his life and certain shifts in his style is a crucial step categorization through the mining of multiple datasets
in understanding his artistic creations. We have started based on their content. Therefore, our study provides

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 5 https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.1004