Creative Circles: Picasso, Matisse, Stein and Hemingway

If you study art history or literature, then I am sure you have noticed an interesting reoccurance: the creative circle. Study any period and you will find like-minded individuals gathering together, later becoming the creative force of their generation. While studying modernism, I recently made the following observation that I thought I would share with you. After reading this little piece and how these individuals influenced each other, ask yourself, “who’s in my creative circle?” If you don’t have one, build one. You have a lot to learn from, and contribute to, the creative lives of others.

Thanks to Gertrude Stein and her brother Leo, 27 Rue de Fleurus was the hub of modernist art and literature from 1903 – 1914. Steins Parisian address became a gathering spot for painters like Picasso and Matisse, as well as expatriate writers like Hemingway. The influence of this creative atmosphere is evident in the cross germination of ideas found in the works of those who passed through 27 Rue de Fleurus.  

When comparing the works of Stein and Hemingway, one can see the influences of Picasso and Matisse respectively. During her residence at 27 Rue de Fleurus, Stein began to experiment with a technique known as “verbal collage,” as evident in her collection Tender Buttons. It was also a period in which Hemingway began to utilize the “iceberg technique.”   Both of these writing techniques mirrored artistic movements of the period. 

Stein’s “Picasso” is an example of this “verbal collage.” Utilizing a few primary words and images, Stein arranges and rearranges them to create linguistic texture. Stein was interested in word association and sound, cutting and pasting syntax together to create works that mirrored Picasso’s Collage Phase.  According to American Poet Judy Grahn, Stein’s work during this period focused on six elements:

1. Commonality
2. Essence
3. Value
4. Grounding the continuous present\
5. Play
6. Transformation

 In “Picasso,” Stein manipulates nouns like “one,” “something,” and “meaning” as well as verbs like “following,” “working,” and phrases like “coming out of” to create juxtaposing images just as Picasso did with his cubist collage. In fact, Stein breaks from her pattern of rearrange these words only long enough to expose the true nature and intent of cubist collage: 

This one was always having something that was coming out of this one that was a solid thing, a charming thing, a simple thing, a clear thing, a complicated thing, an interesting thing, a disturbing thing, a repellant thing, a very pretty thing. 

In this sentence Stein captures the reaction of those viewed collage, on canvas and on paper. Cubist collage was an attempt to capture reality from all angels at once, to represent three dimensions on a two dimensional surface. It was an art form that had the effect of being both charming and simple, and complicated and disturbing.Hemingway, on the other hand, seems to have taken his artistic inspiration from Matisse. Matisse and Picasso were both friends and rivals. One of the distinguishing aspects of their work can be found in the source of their inspiration. Picasso worked mainly from his own imagination while Matisse drew his inspiration from nature. The same distinction can be made between Stein’s “Picasso” and Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants.”  

While “Picasso” utilizes the abstract sound and meaning of language to create an impact on the reader, “Hills Like White Elephants” uses setting and interpersonal dialogue to create an impression.  

During the period of Gertrude Stein’s Paris salon, Matisse favored bright colors, flat shapes, and controlled lines, in a style that was expressive but lacking in detail. This is a description that could also be applied to Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants.”  

Hemingway opens the story with a description of the natural surroundings: “The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees . . .” (Hemingway 613). From this description, the reader visualizes a sweeping block of color. The later comparison to white elephants is very expressive, but still lacks detail.  

Even the conversation is expressive yet controlled as the two main characters discuss the very controversial topic of abortion, while avoiding the word, the details of the operation, the baby, or their relationship. Like his descriptions of the landscape, Hemingway’s dialogue merely focuses on blocks of color:

The girl looked at the bead curtain. “They’ve painted something on it,” she said. “What does it say?”

“Anis del Toro. It’s a drink.”“Could we try it?”

The man called “Listen” through the curtain. The woman came out from the bar.

“Four reales.”

“We want two Anis del Toro.”

“With water?”

“Do you want it with water?”

“I don’t know,” the girl said. “Is it good with water?”

“It’s alright.”

“You want them with water?” asked the woman.

“Yes, with water.”

“It tastes like licorice,” the girl said and put the glass down.

“That’s the way with everything.”

“Yes,” said the girl. “Everything tastes like licorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for, like absinthe.”

(Hemingway 614)

On the surface this dialogue creates a sweeping visual of two individuals ordering drinks. Note that Hemingway leaves out the detail of the waitress going back inside the bar and returning with the drinks. The dialogue moves from her confirmation that they do indeed want water to the girl drinking the Anis. It is also important to note that absinthe was a drink writers and artists associated with romance. This gives the dialogue new meaning that is not evident on the surface. The exchange emphasizes the experience of the man and the inexperience of the girl. It is also significant that the couple waters down the Anis, giving an indication of the nature of their relationship. The girls agreement that all things initially taste like licorice (especially when you wait a long time for it) indicates the awareness that this initial thrill does indeed dull.  Works Cited: Grahn, Judy, ed. Really Reading Gertrude Stein: A Selected Anthology with Essays by Judy Grahn (Crossing Press, 1989). Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Ed. R.V. Cassill. New York. W.W. Norton & Company. 1981. 

Stein, Gertrude. “Picasso.” Portraits and Prayers. New York: Random House, 1934.