The Power of Two

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Bonheur de Vivre 1905 Henri Matisse

In his book, Powers of Two: How Relationships Drive Creativity, Joshua Wolf Shenk explores the important and creative work produced throughout history which was fueled by the interaction of two partners. Shenk writes, “So much of what we believe to be true about how we develop, how we operate, and indeed who we are evolved in the shadow of an erroneous idea about human beings as self-contained, cut off, solitary.” - the myth of the lone genius. He continues by explaining the conditions that foster creative connection and the arc that most creative relationships follow. Shenk discusses great partnerships in all fields of endeavor, but the one most interesting to us is the famous creative relationship of Matisse and Picasso.

It can be said that the works of Matisse and Picasso represents two sides of the same artistic coin. Where Matisse was considered the calm Northern European, Picasso was seen as a hot-blooded, temp…