Amateur Means in Cubism? the Use of Ripolin® by Pablo Picasso

The introduction of non-artistic materials and techniques in Cubism is not a complete invention, contrary to what the traditional historiography of this artistic movement would want to make us think. Contemporary do-it-yourself practices – amateur handicraft – with which Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso had been in contact while living in the workingclass neighborhood of Montmartre, have encouraged paper collage and constructions. Among those amateur means transformed by Cubist artists, Ripolin® holds a prime position. Indeed, Ripolin® house paints are often mentioned in handbooks used by amateurs to guide them in creating their artifacts. Cheap and solid, it was recommended in repainting amateur creations because of its strong ability to both mask and “produce a nice surface.” As for Picasso, he used this brand for its smooth and homogeneous texture, one of the precise characteristics described in amateur guidebooks, but he invested it with new meanings, both formal and ideological. This paper then analyzes the place of Ripolin® in the process of diversion and in the re-appropriation of techniques and materials used by amateurs that supported the technical and material innovations of Cubism. ha l-0 08 72 75 6, v er si on 1 14 O ct 2 01 3 Author manuscript, published in "From Can to Canvas. Premières utilisations des peintures industrielles par Picasso et ses contemporains dans la première moitié du XXe siècle, Marseille; Antibes : France (2011)"