Bravura Skill

Bravura skill has become an ugly trap in the world of drawing and painting over the course of the past century.  It is now seen as post-Cezanne seduction.  The possessor of such skill seduces not only the general civilian public but often himself as well.  Dash, flash, dynamic line, painterly touch (on the money with hue and placement) why?  What’s not to love about this sort of work?  Cezanne cracked this nut wide open and brushed it off the table.  With no bravura skill or much skill at all he became the greatest painter and artist of his age or any and all ages.  Cezanne proved that the deep truth and communion with universal energy was independent of physical pyrotechnics.  Young Picasso had the bravura skill of his more mature and internationally successful countryman Sorolla but after seeing Cezanne in 1905 Picasso searched for deeper, more exotic sources for his work.  He began to pursue  ancient Iberian sculpture and sub-Saharan tribal art - a deeper vein that, when conflated with the heresies of late Cezanne, gave birth to Cubism.