The point is that the “Man on the Balcony” belongs to that class of Cubist pictures wherein the object is almost as well defined as in pictures with which the public is more familiar; whereas the “King and Queen” belongs to the extreme class wherein the objects have been reduced to symbols or abstractions.
The one is the painting of objects in Cubist fashion; the other is the painting of ideas in Cubist fashion.
Of all the Cubist pictures exhibited, most people liked “The Man on the Balcony” best. Why?
Because it looked like a good painting of a man in armour.
“I like the ‘Man in Armour,’” was an expression frequently heard.
All of which goes to show that appreciation is largely a matter of association rather than of knowledge and taste.
Tell the people it is not a man in armour, and immediately they ask, in a tone of disgust, “Then what is he?” and the picture they liked a moment before becomes ridiculous in their eyes.
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