AS - Wyndham Lewis, Pablo Picasso and the Question of Eclecticism

Abstract

This article examines aspects of Wyndham Lewis’s critical writings on Picasso between 1919 and 1950 and on the spirit of eclecticism he associated closely with the Spanish artist. Lewis’s writing is permeated by networks of vivid images which reward closer examination, especially given Lewis’s tendency as a visual artist to think and argue in such images. I show that Lewis’s view of Picasso’s artistic eclecticism—and his evaluation of the eclectic nature of contemporary art in general—underwent a significant evolution in the wake of World War II.

Keywords

• architecture
• eclecticism
• modern art
• modernity