Picasso's influences: West African Fang tribe mask in Louvre

Fang mask in Louvre
Originally uploaded by geo1971

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, says Wikipedia, the European cultural elite were discovering African, Micronesian and Native American art for first time.

Artists such as Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse and Picasso were intrigued and inspired by the stark power and simplicity of styles of those foreign cultures. Around 1906, Picasso, Matisse, Derain and other artists in Paris had recently acquired an interest in primitivism, Iberian sculpture,[25] African art and tribal masks, in part because of the compelling works of Paul Gauguin that had suddenly achieved center stage in the avant-garde circles of Paris.

Picasso began to see art from the point of view of the tribal world: art was magic. Art could provide an exorcism. Art could be a weapon. Picasso saw himself as a shaman.

The omnivorous Picasso devoured another style and concept.