Two stories about realism:
When Admiral Perry opened up the Empire of Japan to the west, he brought many examples of European portraits and art with him. When he showed the portrait of a French Queen, the ladies of the Japanese court burst out laughing behind their fans. Admiral Perry asked why they laughed at the portrait. The Empress said -- "This woman in the painting has dirt all over her face!" And the court women laughed again.
Up until that point, the Japanese had never seen a painting use SHADOW to show three dimensions. What we see as shadow, they saw as dirt. Hmmmmm.....
The story goes that Picasso was traveling by train from Paris to Spain when a working man confronted him. "Your paintings are not real!" Picasso protested and asked "What art is real to you?" The man pulled out a photograph of his wife. "There! That is real. That is my wife!" Picasso silently studied the image for a while and then asked, "This is your wife?" The worker sat back triumphantly and said, "Yes! That is my wife!" Picasso turned the photo over and over in his hand. "Really? That's so weird... your wife is very, very small... And flat!"
1. What point was Picasso making about realism?
2. What do BOTH these stories say about realism vs abstraction in painting?