Picasso's Night Fishing at Antibes

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Picasso's Night Fishing at Antibes

Author(s): Rudolf ArnheimSource: The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Winter, 1963), pp. 165-167Published by: Wiley on behalf of The American Society for AestheticsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/427750 .

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P i c a s s o

N i g h t

F i s h i n g

t

Antibes :

n e

Painting

h r e e

Approaches

On

Thursday

evening,

October

25,

1962,

a

symposium

on

Picasso's

Night

Fishing

at Antibeswas

held for the American

Society

for

Aesthetics,

which

was

holding

its

20th annual

meeting

in Boston.

The

participants

were

Rudolf

Arnheim,

psy-

chologist,

Douglas

Morgan,

philosopher, George

Levitine,

art

historian,

and

Gyorgy

Kepes,

painter.

In combination

the

papers

offered a

noteworthy

example

of

the

criticism

of

a

single

work

of art from

several

points

of

view,

an

example,

as

it

were,

of

pluralism

on

display.

The

symposium

is

presented

here,

though

of

necessity

the

discussion

which

followed

is

wanting.

Lacking

too

is the contribution

of

Gyorgy

Kepes,

who

spoke

spontaneously

but

whose

words

it has been

impossible

to record.

Though printed separately, three

of

the

papers

are

presented

here

as

the unit

they

form.

H.

M.

S.

PICASSO'S

NIGHT

FISHING

AT

ANTIBES

RUDOLF

ARNHEIM

Works of art

have been

investigated

mainly

in

three areas

of

psychology.

The

student

of motivation asks

why

the

work

was

made at

all and

why

in

its

particular

fashion.

The

social

psychologist

considers

the function

and

effect

of

art

in

its

setting.

Finally,

those

of us interested in

perception

and

expression

ask:

Why

does

the work

look

RUDOLF ARNHEIM

teaches

at Sarah

Lawrence Col-

lege

and

is a

trustee

of

this

Society.

His

article,

Perceptual

Analysis

of

a

Cosmological

Symbol,

appeared in the Summer 1961 issue of this jour-

nal.

the

way

it

looks

and

say

what it

says?

It

is

this

last

approach

of

which

I

shall

try

to

give

a

sample.

The

examination

takes

the form of a

de-

scriptive

inventory.

We

cling

as

closely

as

possible

to what

is

directly given

to

the

eyes,

on

the

assumption

that

in

a

successful

paint-

ing

the

essential

meaning

is

directly

ex-

pressed

in

the

properties

of the

visual

form.

Picasso's

painting

is

composed

of

three main

areas.

The

narrow

panel

on

the

left

presents

the town and medieval castle of Antibes and

continues

as a

vertical

string

of

rocks

which

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166

ARNHEIM,

MORGAN,

AND

LEVITINE

frame the water

of

the

harbor. There is the

central medallion

of the

two

fishermen in

their

boat,

surrounded

by lights

and

fishes.

And

the

panel

on the

right

shows

two

girls

on a stone jetty. In the projective frontal

plane

of

the canvas the fishermen

hold

the

center

of

an

approximately

symmetrical

composition.

In

three-dimensional

space

we

are led

diagonally

from

the distant

castle

on

the

upper

left

through

the

fishing

scene

to

the

jetty

in

the

foreground,

closest to

us

and

directly

related

to us

through

the

firm foun-

dation

of

the

walls on the

base

of the frame.

After

we have

traveled

through

the

picture

from

the

left

to the

right

we

are

caught

and

held

by

the

company

of the

girls,

who with

their bicycle, ice cream cone, and outgoing

hair

and

bosom

represent

the

unconcerned,

aesthetically

entertained

spectators.

We

ourselves

are

pointedly

identified

by

the

company

we

keep.

The

base

of observation

in

the

foreground

serves

also

as a

repoussoir;

it

deprives

the

fishermen

in

the

boat of

some

of

the direct

communication

with

the

beholder,

which

they

would

have

if

their

central

position

were

as

uncontestedly

prominent

as

it

is,

for

example,

in

Raph-

ael's

Miraculous

Draught of

Fishes

in

the

Vatican.

Picasso

presents

the central

scene

as

something

looked

at

rather than as

some-

thing

that is.

Nevertheless,

the

theme

of the fishermen

carries

considerable

weight

not

only

because

of its size

and central

position

but

also

by

its

almost

architectonic

stability,

which

makes

the

busy

men

in

the

floating

boat

look,

paradoxically,

more solid

than

the

stone

constructions

to their

left and

right.

In

the boulder

shapes

of the

town,

verticals

and parallels are avoided: the cubes and

pyramids

are

heaped

in

emphatic

disorder.

Similarly,

the

large

cube

of

the

jetty

to

the

right

deviates

from

the stable framework

in

all

three

dimensions

and tilts

obliquely

to-

wards

the

back.

In

the two

girls,

the

vertical

is

also

underplayed

and

crossed

by

powerful

shapes-representing

perhaps

the

play

of

lights

and shadows.

In

comparison,

the

cen-

tral scene

has

the

frontality

and flatness

of

a

facade.

The

upright

figure

displays

its

ac-

tion

without

impediment,

and the

crouch-

ing man, although somewhat foreshortened,

also

unfolds

freely

from the

feet to

the

head.

At

the

same

time,

this

central

edifice

is,

as

it

were,

written

on water.

Rather than

being

firmly

based

on

the

frame,

it

floats

on the

crescent of

the

boat,

surrounded

by

the

im-

material water, like an apparition. This

sense

of

unreality

is

strengthened by

the

distribution of

the colors.

The

warm

purple

shades

are reserved

mostly

for the

surround-

ings-the

surrounding

world,

which

spans

the

whole

range

from the

inorganic

stones

on

the

left

to the

bodies

of

the

young

women

on the

right-while

the chill

and

remote-

ness of

the

blues

all

but

monopolize

the

center.

The

strangeness

of

the

apparition

is

fur-

ther

emphasized

and

explained

when

we

no-

tice a paradoxical difference between the

figures

of the

two

fishermen.

The one to the

left,

bending

overboard,

stares

into

the

wa-

ter.

Although

his stare

is

intent,

he

is

pas-

sive,

contemplative.

The

one to the

right

is

most

actively engaged

in

the

spearing

of

the

fish.

However,

if

we

now

look at

the

shapes

by

which

the

two

figures

are

rendered,

we

notice

that the

distribution

of motionless-

ness

and

motion

is

reversed.

The

figure

of

the

standing

man

is

fitted

into the most

static directions

of

space:

the horizontals

of

the

body

and the

head,

paralleled

by

the

left

arm,

and

the

verticals

of

the

leg,

right

arm,

and

spear

are

fitted into

a

stable

post-

and-lintel construction.

The

balanced

spa-

tial

orientation

of the left

arm

and

the

right

angle

that

estranges

the arm from the

spear

deprive

the thrust

of

its

power.

On

the

contrary,

the

physically

inactive

partner

is

alive

with

the

turmoil

of

active

shapes.

He

is

placed

upside

down,

top-

heavy

and with his

feet

sprawling

in

the

air, along an oblique axis, both in the fron-

tal

plane

and

in three-dimensional

space.

But the

axis

is

not

explicitly

given.

No

sys-

tem

of basic

lines sustains

either the inter-

nal

skeleton

of the

figure

or

its

outer con-

tours.

The

body

is

broken

up

into

short,

strongly

bent

curves which

intercept

each

other

irrationally.

Now

such

a

paradoxical

contradiction be-

tween

the

nature of the action

represented

and

the

dynamics

of the

shapes

representing

it

is

not

rare

in the arts.

It

often

expresses

the contrast between physical behavior and

its

spiritual

meaning.

Thus in Piero della







Night

Fishing

at

Antibes

167

Francesca's

Resurrection

the

figure

of the

rising

Christ is

fitted to

a

serene

framework

of

verticals

and

horizontals

in frontal

pres-

entation,

whereas

the motionless

sleepers

are scattered about in the most restless, ir-

rationally

overlapping

diagonals.

For what

purpose

is the

device

used

in

Night Fishing

at

Antibes?

It seems

legitimate

to remember

here that the

painting

was

done in

August

1939,

when

the

imminence

of

World War

II

darkened the

horizon.

In this

ominous

light,

the murder

of the

fishes,

portrayed

in

our

painting,

acquires

a

particular

mean-

ing.

Watched with non-committal

curiosity

by

the

girls,

whom we

described

as

creatures

of

pleasure

and

luxury,

the

prospect

of

slaughter appears unreal, paralyzed in its

impact

by

its

remoteness,

by

the

incompati-

bility

of

violence with the

gay setting

of

the

Mediterranean

harbor.

The

apparition

on

the crescent

floats

at a

distance,

flat

and

cold,

separated

by

a

stretch

of water from

the

beholder,

who

is

visually

connected and

thus

symbolically

associated with the

stone

jetty,

the

dwelling

place

of

the

carefree

spectators.

The

contemplative companion

of

the

up-

right

fisherman

serves

as

a

bridge

between

the

threatening,

unreal

image

and

the

be-

holder.

Leaning

forward,

this second man

is

not

contained

in

the remote frontal

plane

but

sprawls

toward

us. It

is he

also

whom

we

meet first

as

we

enter the

picture

at

the

lower

left

corner,

stumbling

over the

crab

and

the rocks. Whereas

the

facial

features

of the upright man are narrowed in re-

strictive

concentration,

the

leaning

man's

eyes

are

open

and

far

apart,

and

his nose

reaches

probingly

down into

the

water,

which looks

empty

but

may

hide

anything.

The

pregnancy

of water is

familiar to the

student

of

dreams,

who

speaks

of water

as

a

maternal

symbol.

In

comparison

with the

three-dimensionality

of the fisherman

help-

lessly

scrutinizing

the

future,

everything

else loses

reality.

The

spearman

is

stopped

in

a

frozen

gesture,

the stones

of

the his-

torical

castle

recede,

the

girls

flatten out.

The

foreboding

of

violent,

but

unknown,

things

to

come

emerges

as the

dominant

theme of

the

painting.

The

perceptual

features

that

have

been

mentioned

in

this

analysis

could

be

spelled

out in more technical terms.

The

quick

ref-

erences

that have been

given

may

suffice

to

illustrate

the

fundamental

unity

of

percep-

tion

and

expression.

The

meaning

of a

work

of

visual

art

is

contained

in

the

properties

of its

shapes

and colors. And there is no

sense

to those

shapes

and

colors other

than

the

meaning they

proclaim.

PICASSO'S PEOPLE:

A

LESSON IN

MAKING

SENSE

DOUGLAS

N.

MORGAN

Philosophy

begins,

as it

always

has,

in

wonder: a

wonder

at

the

world

as

a

whole,

at

everything

in

it,

and at

our

curious

ways

of

talking

about

our

world. Our

way

out of

wonder

is

usually

circuitous,

and

new won-

ders

are

perennially

popping

up

to

waylay

us in

our

quest

for

comprehensive

clarity.

Pictorial

criticism

always

properly

be-

gins,

and often

best

ends,

with

the word

DOUGLAS

N.

MORGAN

is

professor

of

philosophy

at

the

University

of

Texas.

His

article,

Art Pure

and

Simple, appeared

in the Winter 1961 issue

of

this

journal.

Beholdl

Consider

Alfred Barr's

charac-

terization of our

painting:

In the

Night

Fishing

at

Antibes

we see two

men

spearing

fish

by

the

light

of

large

lanterns. One of

them in

a

striped jersey,

with a

four-tined

spear

pierces

a sole

(most

Picassoid of

fishesl) lying

on

the bottom. The other

fisherman

leans

over the

side of the

boat

as

refraction

bends

the

shaft of

his

spear.

His

face,

close to

the

water,

is

tense

with

eagerness

and

anxiety.

At the

right,

on

the

stone sea

wall,

two

girls

stand

watching,

one

with

a

bicycle

and

a

double ice

cream cone.

The

rocky

shore to the left is

surmounted

by

the

two towers

of the town.

Above,

the

shining

moon

casts its

spi-

ral

reflection

on

the

water. All

these

circumstan-

Beholdl

Consider

Alfred Barr's

charac-

terization of our

painting:

In the

Night

Fishing

at

Antibes

we see two

men

spearing

fish

by

the

light

of

large

lanterns. One of

them in

a

striped jersey,

with a

four-tined

spear

pierces

a sole

(most

Picassoid of

fishesl) lying

on

the bottom. The other

fisherman

leans

over the

side of the

boat

as

refraction

bends

the

shaft of

his

spear.

His

face,

close to

the

water,

is

tense

with

eagerness

and

anxiety.

At the

right,

on

the

stone sea

wall,

two

girls

stand

watching,

one

with

a

bicycle

and

a

double ice

cream cone.

The

rocky

shore to the left is

surmounted

by

the

two towers

of the town.

Above,

the

shining

moon

casts its

spi-

ral

reflection

on

the

water. All

these

circumstan-

PICASSO'S PEOPLE:

A

LESSON IN

MAKING

SENSE

DOUGLAS

N.

MORGAN

Night

Fishing

at

Antibes

167

but

sprawls

toward

us. It

is he

also

whom

we

meet first

as

we

enter the

picture

at

the

lower

left

corner,

stumbling

over the

crab

and

the rocks. Whereas

the

facial

features

of the upright man are narrowed in re-

strictive

concentration,

the

leaning

man's

eyes

are

open

and

far

apart,

and

his nose

reaches

probingly

down into

the

water,

which looks

empty

but

may

hide

anything.

The

pregnancy

of water is

familiar to the

student

of

dreams,

who

speaks

of water

as

a

maternal

symbol.

In

comparison

with the

three-dimensionality

of the fisherman

help-

lessly

scrutinizing

the

future,

everything

else loses

reality.

The

spearman

is

stopped

in

a

frozen

gesture,

the stones

of

the his-

torical

castle

recede,

the

girls

flatten out.

The

foreboding

of

violent,

but

unknown,

things

to

come

emerges

as the

dominant

theme of

the

painting.

The

perceptual

features

that

have

been

mentioned

in

this

analysis

could

be

spelled

out in more technical terms.

The

quick

ref-

erences

that have been

given

may

suffice

to

illustrate

the

fundamental

unity

of

percep-

tion

and

expression.

The

meaning

of a

work

of

visual

art

is

contained

in

the

properties

of its

shapes

and colors. And there is no

sense

to those

shapes

and

colors other

than

the

meaning they

proclaim.

Francesca's

Resurrection

the

figure

of the

rising

Christ is

fitted to

a

serene

framework

of

verticals

and

horizontals

in frontal

pres-

entation,

whereas

the motionless

sleepers

are scattered about in the most restless, ir-

rationally

overlapping

diagonals.

For what

purpose

is the

device

used

in

Night Fishing

at

Antibes?

It seems

legitimate

to remember

here that the

painting

was

done in

August

1939,

when

the

imminence

of

World War

II

darkened the

horizon.

In this

ominous

light,

the murder

of the

fishes,

portrayed

in

our

painting,

acquires

a

particular

mean-

ing.

Watched with non-committal

curiosity

by

the

girls,

whom we

described

as

creatures

of

pleasure

and

luxury,

the

prospect

of

slaughter appears unreal, paralyzed in its

impact

by

its

remoteness,

by

the

incompati-

bility

of

violence with the

gay setting

of

the

Mediterranean

harbor.

The

apparition

on

the crescent

floats

at a

distance,

flat

and

cold,

separated

by

a

stretch

of water from

the

beholder,

who

is

visually

connected and

thus

symbolically

associated with the

stone

jetty,

the

dwelling

place

of

the

carefree

spectators.

The

contemplative companion

of

the

up-

right

fisherman

serves

as

a

bridge

between

the

threatening,

unreal

image

and

the

be-

holder.

Leaning

forward,

this second man

is

not

contained

in

the remote frontal

plane

Philosophy

begins,

as it

always

has,

in

wonder: a

wonder

at

the

world

as

a

whole,

at

everything

in

it,

and at

our

curious

ways

of

talking

about

our

world. Our

way

out of

wonder

is

usually

circuitous,

and

new won-

ders

are

perennially

popping

up

to

waylay

us in

our

quest

for

comprehensive

clarity.

Pictorial

criticism

always

properly

be-

gins,

and often

best

ends,

with

the word

DOUGLAS

N.

MORGAN

is

professor

of

philosophy

at

the

University

of

Texas.

His

article,

Art Pure

and

Simple, appeared

in the Winter 1961 issue

of

this

journal.





Picasso's Night Fishing at Antibes

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