Conversation II
Francis Picabia
FRANCIS PICABIA, 1922. WATERCOLOR ON BOARD
Francis Picabia is perhaps the ultimate artist’s artist. On the fringe of nearly every major Early 20th art movement, he never quite felt at home in any. Associated at some point with Impressionism, Pointillism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, Picabia is most easily classified as Avant-Garde. One need not look further than Conversation II to see this. Painted in 1922, it is proto Pop Art exploring the two oppositional forces in Picabia’s life – the rigid lines represent order and mathematics while the floating bodies convey a sensual humanity he could not resist. Picabia was in a constant state of duality, existing between movements, straddling eras and ways of thinking, and he allowed this conflict to come through in his work. He lived extravagantly, earning a good living off his art and a large inheritance from his mother. He was a drifter and a dabbler, exploring his contemporary age with freedom.