Apollinare

 Charles writes:  Chapter Three:  Guillaumie Apollinaire

Apollinaire arrived in Paris in 1899 after a murky childhood that was all mixed up with a ruthless and difficult Russian mother, Vatican secrets, questionable suitors of his mother and a life spent on the road between the South of France, Italy and Belgium as the family would need to skip town every so often when the gambling debts came due.  Apollinaire grew into becoming a handsome articulate man and decided that being a French writer was just exotic and possibly erotic enough of a career for a man of his talents.  Being a writer was perfect for Apollinaire because as his background was sketchy his writing talents allowed him to fabricate a more interesting past as he went along.

Apollinaire was charming and filled with a personal rage towards those who were limited in intellect.  And while only seven years younger than Jarry he, just as Picasso was to receeive, an education at the knee of Ubu Pere on the Art of the Modern.  Jarry’s last advice for Apollinaire was to get on with it.

Apollinaire’s charm and personal wit allowed him to become the circus master of the avant garde painting, in these pre-war years, so much so that he would become the critical theorist for Cubism, Futurism and even as early as 1917 he foresaw the Surreal Art school forming in post war France.  Apollinaire was not always correct in his criticism but he was always formulating his cultural vision for other people to understand these new art forms.

Apollinaire can be seen as the Juggler of Modern Art and all of the personalities of his artist friends revolved in the air around him.  He was the impresario of the future of Art.  Apollinaire galavanted about Paris gathering all the interesting artistic talent of the town into his modern circle of creativity.

Picasso and Apollinaire became great friends in 1904 just as Picasso was beginning to settle into his studio at the Bateau Lavoir.  It was at his studio that Picasso hung a sign on the door that read “les rendezvous de poets” and it was here that Picasso would welcome his literary friends Andre Salmon, Alfred Jarry, Max Jacob and many others to toss around the ideas that were to become the basis for modern art.  And now Picasso would welcome the greatest promoter of Modern Art into his life, the poet and provacteur Guillaumie Apollinaire.

Picasso needed another great mind, other than his own, to feed off of to develop his Art and he found that this need was fulfiled in the person of Apollinaire.  Apollinaire’s poetry and novels were groundbreaking work in literature and he was a challenge to keep up with in conversation and in his daily pursuit of his Art.  He and Picasso were both uber individuals in the Nietzsche legacy and through mutual respect for the others work he and Picasso became the fastest of friends and especially between the years of 1904 and 1908.

Apollinaire opened up Picasso’s youthful mind to Primitive Art, sexual sensibility and he gave intellectual Anarchist fuel to Picasso’s desire to upend the existing order of the Art world and the social order of life in general.

Many friends of both of the men claim that it was Apollinaire who gave advice and encouragement to Picasso that allowed him to leave the stark blue period and to begin to paint scenes of Paris life in a warmer rose color.  While the new paintings were still mostly taken from street life they were now populated with subjects like circus performers who were part of the working poor instead of the abject poor of the blue period. 

It is said that Apollinaire introduced Picasso to the secrets and imagery of the Harlequin and he made Picasso a believer that the Harlequin was a soul that had escaped from the depths of Hell.  Apollinaire gave Picasso a keen interest in the Saltimbanques and other street performers on the Paris Streets.

And finally in the early years of their friendship it was Apollinaire who lifted Picasso out of poverty by convincing the art dealer Vollard to purchase 20 of Picasso’s early works.  After this purchase by Vollard Picasso never had to ask his friends and family for money to support himself ever again.  Ironically it was always Picasso who helped his friends with money after this financial reward even though most of them had turned their heads when Picasso was in financial need as a youthful painter.

Chapter Four:  Cezanne, Matisse, Braque and Picasso