Cubism Movement, Artists and Major Works | The Art Story Resources Quotes "Cubism is not a reality you can take in your hand. It's more like a perfume, in front of you, behind you, to the sides, the scent is everywhere but you don't quite know where it comes from." Pablo Picasso "The goal I proposed myself in making cubism? To paint and nothing more... with a method linked only to my thought.. Neither the good nor the true; neither the useful nor the useless." Pablo Picasso "What greatly attracted me - and it was the main line of advance of Cubism - was how to give material expression to this new space of which I had an inkling. So I began to paint chiefly still lifes, because in nature there is a tactile, I would almost say a manual space... that was the earliest Cubist painting - the quest for space." Georges Braque "If I have called Cubism a new order, it is without any revolutionary ideas or any reactionary ideas...

One cannot escape from one's own epoch, however revolutionary one may be." Georges Braque "Cubism is moving around an object to seize several successive appearances, which fused in a single image, reconstitute it in time." Juan Gris "It was a tradition to represent a dancer frozen in a chosen position, like a snapshot.

I broke away from this tradition by superimposing postures, blending light and motion and scrambling the planes." Sonia Delaunay "Enormous enlargements of an object or a fragment give it a personality it never had before, and in this way, it can become a vehicle of entirely new lyric and plastic power." Fernand Léger "Let the picture imitate nothing; let it nakedly present its raison d'etre." Jean Metzinger "Whether it is Juan Gris taking objects apart, Picasso replacing them with objects of his own invention, or another who replaces conical perspective by a system based on the relations between perpendiculars, all that only goes to show that Cubism was not at all born out of an authoritative theory [mot d'ordre]; that it only marked among a few painters the will to be finished with an art that never ought to have survived the condemnation pronounced upon it by Pascal." Jean Metzinger "Cubism was an attack on the perspective that had been known and used for 500 years. It was the first big, big change.

It confused people: they said, 'Things don't look like that!'" David Hockney "He commenced the long struggle not to express what he could see but not to express the things he did not see, that is to say the things everybody is certain of seeing but which they do not really see." Gertrude Stein, on Picasso's early art "I have transformed myself in the zero of form and fished myself out of the rubbishy slough of Academic Art. I have destroyed the circle of the horizon and escaped from the circle of objects, the horizon-ring that has imprisoned the artist and the forms from nature. The square is not a subconscious form. It is the creation of intuitive reason. The face of the new art. The square is the living, royal infant. It is the first step of pure creation in art." Kazimir Malevich Like The Art Story on Facebook Beginnings A watershed moment for the development of Cubism was the posthumous retrospective of Paul Cézanne's work at the Salon d'Automne in 1907. Cézanne's use of generic forms to simplify nature was incredibly influential to both Picasso and Braque.

In the previous year, Picasso was also introduced to non-Western art: seeing Iberian art in Spain, and African-influenced art by Matisse, and at the Trocadero anthropological museum. What drew Picasso to these artistic traditions was their use of an abstract or simplified representation of the human body rather than the naturalistic forms of the European Renaissance tradition. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Breakthrough: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon These varying influences can be seen in Picasso's groundbreaking work of 1907, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which is considered a work of proto or pre-Cubism. In its radical distortion of figures, its rendering of volumes as fragmented planes, and its subdued palette, this work predicted some of the key characteristics of later Cubism. Braque, on seeing Picasso's Les Demoiselles at his studio, intensified his similar explorations in simplification of form.

He made a series of landscape paintings in the summer of 1908, including Houses at L'Estaque in which trees and mountains were rendered as shaded cubes and pyramids, resembling architectural forms. Cubism was introduced to the public with Braque's one-man exhibition at Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler's gallery on the rue Vignon in November 1908. It was this exhibit that led French art critic Louis Vauxcelles to describe them as "bizarreries cubiques," thus giving the movement its name. The experiments of Picasso and Braque owe much to Kahnweiler, who was the major supporter of their work. Picasso and Braque were both quite poor in 1907 and Kahnweiler offered to buy their works as they painted them, thus freeing the artists from worrying about pleasing patrons or receiving negative reviews. After the 1908 exhibit, with few exceptions, the two artists exhibited only in Kahnweiler's gallery. The Cubism of Picasso and Braque The close collaboration between Picasso and Braque beginning in 1909 was crucial to the style's genesis.

The two artists met regularly to discuss their progress, and at times it became hard to distinguish the work of one artist from another (as they liked it). Both were living in the bohemian Montmartre section of Paris in the years before and during World War I, making their collaboration easy. In 1912, Kahnweiler gave his first public interview on Cubism, no doubt in response to growing public interest in (and some recognition of) the movement. When World War I began, Kahnweiler, as a German, was exiled from France. During the war, Léonce Rosenberg became the main dealer for Cubist art in Paris (including those of the Salon Cubists) with his brother Paul Rosenberg serving as Picasso's dealer during the interwar years. Though Picasso and Braque returned to Cubist forms periodically throughout their careers and there were some exhibitions of work up until 1925, the two-man movement did not last much beyond World War I. Salon or Section d'Or Cubism The Salon Cubists, so-called because they showed their works at public exhibits such as the Salon d'Automne, did not work closely with Picasso and Braque but were influenced by their experiments.

It was through the work of the Salon Cubists that the movement became widely known to the public in the early 1910s. These artists included Robert Delaunay, Albert Gleizes, Fernand Léger, Juan Gris, Henri Le Fauconnier, Robert de La Fresnaye, and Jean Metzinger. Metzinger and Delaunay, who had been friends at least since 1906, began collaborating with Gleizes as a result of the yearly Salon d'Automne. It was through Gleizes that they met Le Fauconnier who had published Note sur la peinture (1910) in which he praised Picasso and Braque for their "total emancipation" of painting. These artists exhibited together at the 1911 Salon des Independants, introducing Cubism to the general public. The Independants was a non-juried exhibition where public reaction depended on how and where paintings were hung. The Cubists got control of the hanging committee from the Neo-Impressionists so that their works could be hung together in one room as a coherent school.

The paintings created a stir, as Gleizes noted: "While the newspapers sounded the alarm to alert people to the danger, and while appeals were made to the public authorities to do something about it, song writers, satirists and other men of wit and spirit provoked great pleasure among the leisured classes by playing with the word 'cube', discovering that it was a very suitable vehicle for inducing laughter which, as we all know, is the principle characteristic that distinguishes man from the animals." In addition to showing their works in large exhibitions, the Salon Cubists were also distinct from Picasso and Braque in that they often worked on a large scale, leading one art historian to coin the term 'Epic Cubism' to distinguish their work from the more intimate paintings of Picasso and Braque. While they broke apart objects and bodies into geometric forms like those of Picasso and Braque, the Salon Cubists did not challenge Renaissance conceptions of space to the same extent nor did they embrace the monochromatic color of Analytic Cubism or the collage elements of Synthetic Cubism.

At the end of 1911 Gleizes and Metzinger, who lived closely together in the Parisian suburbs, and others in the group began meeting in Puteaux, a suburb where the painter and engraver Jacques Villon and his brother, the sculptor Raymond Duchamp-Villon had their studios (leading to them sometimes being called the Puteaux group). It is likely as a result of these meetings that the main ideas for Metzinger and Gleizes' On Cubism (1912) were formalized; it was the first published statement about the style. The next year the group also planned the launch of the Salon de la Section d'Or (1912) that would bring together the most radical currents in painting. The term Section d'Or was a name the Salon Cubists adopted to show their attachment to the golden mean, i.e. the belief in order and the importance of mathematical proportions in their works that reflected those in nature. The Section d'Or exhibit was held after the 1912 Salon d'Automne at the Galerie La Boetie.

It was at this exhibit that the art critic Guillaume Apollinaire coined the term Orphism to refer to the work of Delaunay. The next year Apollinaire published Aesthetic Meditations: The Cubist Painters (1913). These many exhibits and publications were calculated to make an impact, both in Paris and abroad. As with the Cubism of Picasso and Braque, the Salon or Section d'Or group did not continue coherently after WWI, having only sporadic exhibits between 1918 and 1925. Styles The various stages of development in the Cubist style are based on the work of Picasso and Braque rather than on those of the Salon Cubists. The exact names and dates of the stages are debated and continually reframed to this day.

Cezannian Cubism (1908 -1909) This early phase of the movement came in the wake of the Paul Cézanne retrospective in 1907 when many artists were reintroduced or introduced for the first time to the work of Cézanne, who had been living in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France before his death and had not exhibited in Paris for many years. Several artists who saw the retrospective were influenced by his lack of three-dimensionality, the material quality of his brushwork, and his use of uniform brushstrokes. Braque's Houses at L'Estaque (1908) is a good example of this type of Cubism. Analytic Cubism (1910- 1912) In this phase, Cubism developed in a highly systematic fashion. Later to be known as the Analytic period of the style, it was based on close observation of objects in their background contexts, often showing them from various vantage points.

Picasso and Braque restricted their subject matter to the traditional genres of portraiture and still life and also limited their palette to earth tones and muted grays in order to lessen the clarity between the fragmented shapes of figures and objects. Although their works were often similar in appearance, their separate interests showed through over time. Braque tended to show objects exploding out or pulled apart into fragments, while Picasso rendered them magnetized, with attracting forces compelling elements of the pictorial space into the center of the composition. Works in this style include Braque's Violin and Palette (1909) and Picasso's Ma Jolie (1911-12). Towards the end of this stage of Cubism, Juan Gris began to make contributions to the style: he maintained a sharp clarity to his forms, provided suggestions of a compositional grid, and introduced more color to what had been an austere, monochromatic style. Synthetic Cubism (c. 1912 - c. 1914) In 1912 both Picasso and Braque began to introduce foreign elements into their compositions, continuing their experiments with multiple perspectives.

Picasso incorporated wall paper that imitated chair caning into Still Life with Chair-Caning (1912), thus initiating Cubist collage, and Braque began to glue newspaper to his canvases, beginning the movement's exploration of papier-colle. In part this may have resulted from the artists' growing discomfort with the radical abstraction of Analytic Cubism, though it could also be argued that these Synthetic experiments touched off an even more radical turn away from Renaissance depictions of space, and towards a more conceptual rendering of objects and figures. Picasso's experiments with sculpture are also included as part of the Synthetic Cubist style as they employ collaged elements. Crystal Cubism (1915 -1922) As a response to the chaos of war, there was a tendency among many French artists to pull back from radical experimentation; this inclination was not unique to Cubism. One art historian has described this stage of Cubism as the "end product of a progressive closing down of possibilities." In Léger's Three Women (1921), for example, the depicted subjects are hard-edged rather than resembling overlapping bits of low-relief sculpture; Léger also did not attempt to show objects from various angles.

Crystal Cubism is associated with Salon Cubism as well as with the works of Picasso and Braque. Crystal Cubism is part of the larger trend known as a "Return to Order" that was associated with artists in the School of Paris. Further Developments Cubism spread quickly throughout Europe in the 1910s, as much because of its systematic approach to rendering imagery as for the openness it offered in depicting objects in new ways. Critics were split over whether Cubists were concerned with representing imagery in a more objective manner - revealing more of its essential character - or whether they were principally interested in distortion and abstraction. The movement lies at the root of a host of early twentieth styles including Constructivism, Futurism, Suprematism, Orphism, and De Stijl. Many important artists went through a Cubist phase in their development, perhaps the most notable of whom was Marcel Duchamp whose notorious Nude Descending a Staircase (1912) garnered much attention and many negative reviews at the 1913 Armory Show in New York City. The ideas in the movement also fed into more popular phenomena, like Art Deco design and architecture.

Later movements such as Minimalism were also influenced by the Cubist use of the grid, and it is difficult to imagine the development of non-representational art without the experiments of the Cubists. Like other paradigm changing artistic movements of twentieth-century art, like Dada and Pop, Cubism shook the foundations of traditional artmaking by turning the Renaissance tradition on its head and changing the course of art history with reverberations that continue into the postmodern era. Cubism | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art Works of Art (11) Essay Cubism was one of the most influential visual art styles of the early twentieth century. It was created by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973) and Georges Braque (French, 1882–1963) in Paris between 1907 and 1914. The French art critic Louis Vauxcelles coined the term Cubism after seeing the landscapes Braque had painted in 1908 at L’Estaque in emulation of Cézanne .

Vauxcelles called the geometric forms in the highly abstracted works “cubes.” Other influences on early Cubism have been linked to Primitivism and non-Western sources. The stylization and distortion of Picasso’s ground-breaking Les Demoiselles d’Avignon ( Museum of Modern Art, New York ), painted in 1907, came from African art. Picasso had first seen African art when, in May or June 1907, he visited the ethnographic museum in the Palais du Trocadéro in Paris. The Cubist painters rejected the inherited concept that art should copy nature, or that they should adopt the traditional techniques of perspective, modeling, and foreshortening. They wanted instead to emphasize the two-dimensionality of the canvas. So they reduced and fractured objects into geometric forms, and then realigned these within a shallow, relieflike space. They also used multiple or contrasting vantage points. In Cubist work up to 1910, the subject of a picture was usually discernible. Although figures and objects were dissected or “analyzed” into a multitude of small facets, these were then reassembled, after a fashion, to evoke those same figures or objects.

During “high” Analytic Cubism (1910–12), also called “hermetic,” Picasso and Braque so abstracted their works that they were reduced to just a series of overlapping planes and facets mostly in near-monochromatic browns, grays, or blacks. In their work from this period, Picasso and Braque frequently combined representational motifs with letters ( 1999.363.63 ; 1999.363.11 ). Their favorite motifs were still lifes with musical instruments, bottles, pitchers, glasses, newspapers, playing cards ( 1997.149.12 ), and the human face and figure. Landscapes were rare. During the winter of 1912–13, Picasso executed a great number of papiers collés ( 1999.363.64 ). With this new technique of pasting colored or printed pieces of paper in their compositions, Picasso and Braque swept away the last vestiges of three-dimensional space (illusionism) that still remained in their “high” Analytic work.

Whereas, in Analytic Cubism, the small facets of a dissected or “analyzed” object are reassembled to evoke that same object, in the shallow space of Synthetic Cubism—initiated by the papiers collés–large pieces of neutral or colored paper themselves allude to a particular object, either because they are often cut out in the desired shape or else sometimes bear a graphic element that clarifies the association. While Picasso and Braque are credited with creating this new visual language, it was adopted and further developed by many painters, including Fernand Léger ( 1999.363.35 ), Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Juan Gris ( 1996.403.14 ), Roger de la Fresnaye ( 1991.397 ), Marcel Duchamp , Albert Gleizes, Jean Metzinger ( 59.86 ), and even Diego Rivera ( 49.70.51 ). Though primarily associated with painting, Cubism also exerted a profound influence on twentieth-century sculpture and architecture. The major Cubist sculptors were Alexander Archipenko, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, and Jacques Lipchitz.

The liberating formal concepts initiated by Cubism also had far-reaching consequences for Dada and Surrealism , as well as for all artists pursuing abstraction in Germany, Holland, Italy, England, America, and Russia. Sabine Rewald Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art October 2004 Citation Rewald, Sabine. “Cubism.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (October 2004) Further Reading Cooper, Douglas, and Gary Tinterow. The Essential Cubism, 1907–1920: Braque, Picasso & Their Friends. Exhibition catalogue. London: Tate Gallery, 1983. Rubin, William, ed. Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1980. Additional Essays by Sabine Rewald Rewald, Sabine. “ Fauvism .” (October 2004) Rewald, Sabine.

“ Paul Klee (1879–1940) .” (October 2004) Related Pablo Picasso's Cubism Period Biography Pablo Picasso's Cubism Period - 1909 to 1912 Analytical Cubism is one of the two major branches of the artistic movement of Cubism and was developed between 1908 and 1912. In contrast to Synthetic cubism, Analytic cubists "analyzed" natural forms and reduced the forms into basic geometric parts on the two-dimensional picture plane. Color was almost non-existent except for the use of a monochromatic scheme that often included grey, blue and ochre. Instead of an emphasis on color, Analytic cubists focused on forms like the cylinder, sphere and the cone to represent the natural world. During this movement, the works produced by Picasso and Braque shared stylistic similarities.

Both Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque moved toward abstraction, leaving only enough signs of the real world to supply a tension between the reality outside the painting and the complicated meditations on visual language within the frame, exemplified through their paintings Ma Jolie (1911), by Picasso and The Portuguese (1911), by Braque. The technique of faceting originated from Georges Braques - it was his way to depict a natural object. Picasso didn't so much facet natural objects, but used the geometry of Braques' faceted paintings to create a style that was abstract in essence, almost pure abstract art. So cubism refers to the styles of both Braques and Picasso, although Braques' cubism has a recognizable figurative objective, while Picasso's cubism served as the link between Braques' style and pure the abstract art that followed from cubism. Noteworthy is the work of Piet Mondrian , who linearized cubism in his 1912 Apple Tree painting, a process which ultimately led to the first really non-figurative paintings (or pure abstract art), from 1914 on. An important difference between Picasso and the cubist Mondrian was that Picasso never really gave up the third dimension.

He played with dimensions, flirted with removing the third, but never became a pure abstract painter. So deeply his figurative upbringing was engrained (he was an artistic prodigy and well-rounded figurative painter at 15), that one of the main creators of abstract art never made it to this development's ultimate consequence: pure abstract art. In that sense Picasso wasn't the radical and revolutionary that, during his cubist period he appeared to become; his cubist period was followed (leaving his cubist converts bewildered) by his neo-classicism, a return to tradition. From there on his recognition and wealth grew and his role as a bringer of fundamental change in the art of painting was over. MOST POPULAR PAINTINGS Cubism - the first abstract style of modern art Cubism Cubism - The First Style of Abstract Art PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973) 'Factory, Horta de Ebbo', 1909 (oil on canvas) Cubism was a truly revolutionary style of modern art developed by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braques.

It was the first style of abstract art which evolved at the beginning of the 20th century in response to a world that was changing with unprecedented speed. Cubism was an attempt by artists to revitalise the tired traditions of Western art which they believed had run their course. The Cubists challenged conventional forms of representation, such as perspective, which had been the rule since the Renaissance . Their aim was to develop a new way of seeing which reflected the modern age. In the four decades from 1870-1910, western society witnessed more technological progress than in the previous four centuries. During this period, inventions such as photography, cinematography, sound recording, the telephone, the motor car and the airplane heralded the dawn of a new age. The problem for artists at this time was how to reflect the modernity of the era using the tired and trusted traditions that had served art for the last four centuries. Photography had begun to replace painting as the tool for documenting the age and for artists to sit illustrating cars, planes and images of the new technologies was not exactly rising to the challenge.

Artists needed a more radical approach - a 'new way of seeing' that expanded the possibilities of art in the same way that technology was extending the boundaries of communication and travel. This new way of seeing was called Cubism - the first abstract style of modern art. Picasso and Braque developed their ideas on Cubism around 1907 in Paris and their starting point was a common interest in the later paintings of Paul Cézanne . The Influence of Cézanne PAUL CÉZANNE (1839-1906) 'Bibemus Quarry', 1895 (oil on canvas) Cézanne was not primarily interested in creating an illusion of depth in his painting and he abandoned the tradition of perspective drawing. Perspective, which had been used since the Early Renaissance, was a geometric formula that solved the problem of how to draw three-dimensional objects on a two dimensional surface. Cézanne felt that the illusionism of perspective denied the fact that a painting is a flat two-dimensional object. He liked to flatten the space in his paintings to place more emphasis on their surface - to stress the difference between a painting and reality.

He saw painting in more abstract terms as the construction and arrangement of colour on a two-dimensional surface. It was this flat abstract approach that appealed to the Cubists and their early paintings, such as Picasso's 'Factory at Horta de Ebbo' (1909) and Braque's 'Viaduct at L'Estaque' (1908,) took it to an extreme. GEORGES BRAQUE (1882-1963) 'Viaduct at L'Estaque', 1908 (oil on canvas) The limitations of perspective were also seen as an obstacle to progress by the Cubists. The fact that a picture drawn in perspective could only work from one viewpoint restricted their options. As the image was drawn from a fixed position, the result was frozen, like a snapshot - but the Cubists wanted to make pictures that reached beyond the rigid geometry of perspective. They wanted to introduce the idea of 'relativity' - how the artist perceived and selected elements from the subject, fusing both their observations and memories into the one concentrated image. To do this the Cubists examined the way that we see.

When you look at an object your eye scans it, stopping to register on a certain detail before moving on to the next point of interest and so on. You can also change your viewpoint in relation to the object allowing you to look at it from above, below or from the side. Therefore, the Cubists proposed that your sight of an object is the sum of many different views and your memory of an object is not constructed from one angle, as in perspective, but from many angles selected by your sight and movement. Cubist painting, paradoxically abstract in form, was an attempt at a more realistic way of seeing. A typical Cubist painting depicts real people, places or objects, but not from a fixed viewpoint. Instead it will show you many parts of the subject at one time, viewed from different angles, and reconstructed into a composition of planes, forms and colours. The whole idea of space is reconfigured: the front, back and sides of the subject become interchangeable elements in the design of the work. JUAN GRIS (1887-1927) 'Violin and Glass', 1915 (oil on canvas) Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque conceived and developed Cubism but other artists also adopted the style.

The Spanish artist Juan Gris , who is often referred to as the 'Third Musketeer of Cubism', was the best of these and he refined the Cubist vocabulary into his own instantly recognizable visual language. Other notable artists associated with Cubism were Fernand Leger, Robert Delaunay, Albert Gleizes, Jean Metzinger, Louis Marcoussis, Marie Laurencin and Roger de La Fresnaye. The Influence of African Art LEFT: Pablo Picasso, 'Head of a Woman', 1907 (oil on canvas) RIGHT: Dan Mask from West Africa The Cubists believed that the traditions of Western art had become exhausted and another remedy they applied to revitalize their work was to draw on the expressive energy of art from other cultures, especially African art . However, they were not interested in the true religious or social symbolism of these cultural objects, but valued them superficially for their expressive style. They viewed them as subversive elements that could be used to attack and subsequently refresh the tired tradition of Western art.

This inspiration to cross-reference art from different cultures probably came from Paul Gauguin , the French post-impressionist artist, whose paintings and prints were influenced by the native culture of Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands where he spent his final years. PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973) 'Still Life with Chair Caning', 1912 (oil on canvas) Around 1912, the styles of Picasso and Braque were becoming predictable. Their images had grown so similar that their paintings of this period are often difficult to tell apart. Their work was increasingly abstract and less recognizable as the subject of their titles. Cubism was running out of creative steam. In an attempt to revitalise the style and pull it back from total abstraction, Picasso began to glue printed images from the 'real world' onto the surface of his still lifes. His painting 'Still Life with Chair Caning’ was the first example of this 'collage' technique and it opened the door for himself and other artists to the second phase of the Cubist style: Synthetic Cubism.

PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973) 'Still Life with mandolin and Guitar', 1924 (oil on canvas) Influenced by the introduction of bold and simple collage shapes, Synthetic Cubism moved away from the unified monochrome surfaces of Analytic Cubism to a more direct, colorful and decorative style. Although synthetic cubist images appear more abstract in their use of simplified forms, the other elements of their composition are applied quite traditionally. Interchanging lines, colours, patterns and textures that switch from geometric to freehand, dark to light, positive to negative and plain to patterned, advance and recede in rhythms across the picture plain. 'Weeping Woman', 1937 (oil on canvas) Cubism was invented around 1907 in Paris by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Cubism was the first abstract style of modern art. A Cubist painting ignores the traditions of perspective drawing and shows you many views of a subject at one time. The Cubists introduced collage into painting. The Cubists were influenced by art from other cultures, particularly African masks.

There are two distinct phases of the Cubist Style: Analytical Cubism (pre 1912) and Synthetic Cubism (post 1912) Cubism influenced many other styles of modern art including Orphism, Futurism, Vorticism, Suprematism, Constructivism and Expressionism . What is Cubism? An Introduction to the Cubist Art Movement and Cubist Painters We are an online artist community sharing ways to create and sell art. Join us to save big on art supplies or try our easy websites for artists . What is Cubism? An Introduction to the Cubist Art Movement and Cubist Painters ‹ Previous article by date Within the first two decades of the 20th century, a new art movement began that was unlike any other—Cubism. Started by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso , most Cubist works are immediately recognizable due to their flattened, nearly two-dimensional appearance; an inclusion of geometric angles, lines, and shapes; and a fairly neutral color palette. As the movement evolved, color, texture, and graphic elements (like text) were added, to the point where later Cubist works often appeared more like collage than anything else.

But Cubism wasn’t just a specific “style” or “look”—it actually allowed artists an entirely different way of seeing and depicting real-life objects. What is Cubism? Unlike traditional still-lifes, landscapes, or portrait paintings, Cubist paintings aren’t meant to be realistic or life-like in any way. Instead, after looking at the subject from every possibly angle, the artist will piece together fragments from different vantage points into one painting. In doing this, the artist is attempting to give a fuller, more detailed explanation of the subject—breaking past barriers of space and time, like in the famous painting by Marcel Duchamp entitled Nude Descending a Staircase (seen above.) This type of Cubism is called Analytic Cubism, and it’s usually what comes to mind when people think of Cubist artwork. Synthetic Cubism on the other hand was a natural extension of Analytic Cubism. Instead of breaking a subject down into pieces, it involved assembling pieces already available into a collage. Here’s an example by Georges Braque, entitled Tenora. As you can see, Synthetic Cubism is still fairly geometric, and some pieces (like this one) incorporate traditional media as well as found objects.

Famous Cubist Artists The most famous Cubist is probably Picasso, with Braque a distant second. . . even though he was just as instrumental as Picasso was in founding Cubism. Paul Cézanne (although not a part of the Cubist movement himself) is often credited with sparking Braque’s first attempts at painting a Cubist landscape. Cézanne’s paintings separated objects into basic shapes—cubes and spheres, mostly—which directly led to Cubism’s use of fractured, geometric planes. Other Cubist artists include Jaun Gris (whose work seems to almost bridge Cubism with Art Deco ) and artists like Marcel Duchamp (whose artwork actually spanned a variety of styles and movements). You can see some of the Art Deco similarities in The Guitar, by Jaun Gris, below. Nowadays, Cubism seems like just another facet of abstract art , but in reality, it came first—and it directly influenced most of the abstract art of the 20th century. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to imagine the 20th century without Cubism, Picasso and the others. . .it would be a very different world of art than the one we know.

★Help share this post Cubism | Tate Cubism Z Cubism was a revolutionary new approach to representing reality invented in around 1907/08 by artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque who aimed to bring different views of subjects (usually objects or figures) together in the same picture, resulting in paintings that appear fragmented and abstracted Bowl of Fruit, Violin and Bottle 1914 Oil on canvas unconfirmed: 920 x 730 mm frame: 1279 x 1093 x 63 mm Lent by the National Gallery 1997© Succession Picasso/DACS 2002 Bottle of Rum and Newspaper 1913-4 Oil and canvas support: 460 x 370 mm frame: 647 x 555 x 67 mm Presented by Gustav and Elly Kahnweiler 1974, accessioned 1994 Bottle and Fishes circa 1910-2 Oil on canvas Limestone object: 980 x 280 x 180 mm Purchased with assistance from the Friends of the Tate Gallery, Mrs Jack Steinberg and the

 Rayne Foundation 1982© The estate of Jacques Lipchitz, courtesy, Marlborough Gallery, New York Windows Open Simultaneously (First Part, Third Motif) 1912 Oil on canvas support: 457 x 375 mm frame: 651 x 565 x 67 mm Purchased 1967 Head of a Woman (Fernande) 1909 Plaster unconfirmed: 405 x 230 x 260 mm Lent from a private collection 1994© Succession Picasso/DACS 2002, courtesy Private Collection View the main page for this artwork Introduction to the cubist movement Cubism was one of the most influential styles of the twentieth century.

It is generally agreed to have begun around 1907 with Picasso ’s celebrated painting Demoiselles D’Avignon which included elements of cubist style. The name ‘cubism’ seems to have derived from a comment made by the critic Louis Vauxcelles who, on seeing some of Georges Braque ’s paintings exhibited in Paris in 1908, described them as reducing everything to ‘geometric outlines, to cubes’. Cubism opened up almost infinite new possibilities for the treatment of visual reality in art and was the starting point for many later abstract styles including constructivism and neo-plasticism . How does it work? By breaking objects and figures down into distinct areas or planes , the artists aimed to show different viewpoints at the same time and within the same space and so suggest their three dimensional form. In doing so they also emphasized the two-dimensional flatness of the canvas, instead of creating the illusion of depth. This marked a revolutionary break with the European tradition, which had dominated representation from the Renaissance onwards, of creating the illusion of real space from a fixed viewpoint using devices such as linear perspective . What inspired cubist style?

Cubism was partly influenced by the late work of Paul Cézanne in which he can be seen to be painting things from slightly different points of view. Pablo Picasso was also inspired by African tribal masks which are highly stylised, or non-naturalistic, but nevertheless present a vivid human image. ‘A head’, said Picasso, ‘is a matter of eyes, nose, mouth, which can be distributed in any way you like’. Types of cubism: Analytical vs. synthetic Cubism can be seen to have developed in two distinct phases: the initial and more austere analytical cubism , and later phase of cubism known as synthetic cubism . Georges Braque Listen to the curator of the 2012 Picasso and Modern British Art exhibition at Tate Britain, provide his persepective on the impact of Picasso’s work on British art. Cubism in context Watch curator Chris Stephens discussing what else was happening at the time in the art world around the time of cubism. Fun, exotic and very modern Cubist style was far-reaching in its influence. This Tate Etc.

article explores the impact cubism, particularly the work of Juan Gris , had on artist Patrick Caulfield ’s paintings – some fifty years after its emergence at the beginning of the twentieth century. Other perspectives In 2012 the English National Ballet were invited to Tate Britain to rehearse their new Ballet Russe season and to create new ballets inspired by Picasso’s work. Cubism in detail Pablo Picasso: 20th Century Painter and Founder of Cubism We are an online artist community sharing ways to create and sell art. Join us to save big on art supplies or try our easy websites for artists . Pablo Picasso: 20th Century Painter and Founder of Cubism ‹ Previous article by date Pablo Picasso—born Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Clito Ruiz y Picasso—is quite possibly the most famous artist that has ever lived, both during his own life and now decades after. Not only was Picasso a tremendously prolific painter and a leading artist of the 20th century, he also co-created Cubism , an art movement that altered art history forever.

Born in 1881, Picasso was considered an artistic prodigy as a child. His father was an art professor, so he received instruction while very young—the above drawing of a sculpture was done in 1893 when he was twelve. His classical training was finished early on, and before the age of 20 Picasso had already begun to shift his style away from traditional realism. But Picasso didn’t immediately begin painting in that fragmented, Cubist style we all know him for; he had two distinct periods from 1901 to around 1906—his Blue Period and his Rose Period. During his blue period, Picasso painted with primarily cold blues tinged with green, often depicting prostitutes or beggars. Picasso’s blue period ended when he began to introduce warmer colors into his paintings, especially pinks and soft reds. A common motif throughout his rose period was clowns and circus performers. Picasso would often place these strangely somber figures in empty landscapes, as seen in this painting. His rose period was shorter than the blue period that preceded it, and Picasso soon began experimenting with other painting styles.

By about 1910, Picasso had come up with something very new to the art world—Cubism. He wasn’t the sole creator of the cubist style; Georges Braque had as much, if not more, to do with Cubism than Picasso did. Picasso just became more and more famous until finally the words Cubism and modern art began to make us think of him first and foremost. Picasso made these fractured, disjointed paintings by “analyzing” an object or scene from every angle, and then painting a single composition that combines each viewpoint. This early style of Cubism is actually called Analytic Cubism. Picasso went on to make collage-style works too, cutting out paper shapes and combining them on canvas. It was a natural extension of his Cubist painting style, eventually leading to many sculptural works as well. And unlike many artists, Picasso lived long enough to reap the rewards of his fame. His place in history was already assured by the 1920’s, and over the next fifty years as he continued to paint, sculpt, and create, his name truly became synonymous with modern art in the 20th century.

Pablo Picasso died at the age of 92 in 1973. ★Help share this post Cubist Artists - How Cubism Works | HowStuffWorks How Cubism Works Imagno/ Getty Images The two most influential contributors to the Cubist movement were Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who are also considered its founders. However, since their lives were so intertwined in the Paris art scene, determining which one actually founded the movement is up for debate. Georges Braque (1882-1963) The Dead Artists Quiz I no longer believe in anything. Objects don't exist for me except in so far as a rapport exists between them or between them and myself. When one attains this harmony, one reaches a sort of intellectual non-existence -- what I can only describe as a state of peace -- which makes everything possible and right. Life then becomes a perpetual revelation. That is true poetry. Georges Braque, born in the village of Argenteuil, France, came from a line of artists. After flunking out of art school in 1899, he became a painter's apprentice. His early works were influenced in large part by the Fauves and Henri Matisse.

In 1907, he first experienced the work of Cezanne, met Picasso, and began painting the landscapes that would name him a founder of the Cubist movement. Some of his most famous Cubist works include " Large Nude " (1908), " Houses at L'Estaque " (1908), " Violin and Pitcher " (1910) and " Man With a Guitar " (1911) After being wounded in World War I, Braque began moving away from the Cubist aesthetic, eventually producing works like " Still Life " (1932) and " Les Oiseaux " (1953). Pablo Picasso (1881-1972) In Cubism, in the end what was important is what one wanted to do, the intention one had. And that one cannot paint. Spanish-born artist Pablo Picasso is probably the most famous artist of the 20th century, and one of the few in history to be a household name during his own time. After studying art in Barcelona, he moved to Paris in 1904, where he became a central figure in the burgeoning art scene.

His work went through several well-known, well-studied phases, including the Blue Period (1901-1904), the Rose Period (1904-1906) and, beginning in 1907, Cubism. His " Les Demoiselles d'Avignon " is considered by many to have initiated the Cubist movement, although writer and art aficionado Gertrude Stein called his 1909 work at Horta de San Joan in southern Spain (such as " Reservoir at Horta de Ebro ") the first true Cubist artworks [source: MOMA ]. Some of Picasso representative Cubist works include " Self Portrait " (1907), " Woman with Mandolin " (1910) and " Three Musicians " (1921). Earlier work includes " The Tragedy " (1903) and " Boy with a Pipe " (1905), while later work includes "The Dream" (1932) and sculptural pieces like the giant head in Chicago's Daley Park.

Other painters were also considerable contributors to the Cubist canon, including Fernand Léger, Juan Gris, Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Diego Rivera and Marcel Duchamp. The Cubist movement, while typically associated with paintings, was not limited to a single medium. Sculptors Alexander Archipenko, Raymond Duchamp-Villon and Jacques Lipchitz, as well as architect Le Corbusier (formally Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris) reveal the influence of Cubism beyond the painting realm. Cubist style shaped art until World War II. Even as it faded from prominence, it influenced works of Surrealism and Pop Art, and it continues to influence contemporary art to this day. For more information on Cubism, Picasso and related topics, look over the links on the next page. What Is Cubism? Share By Beth Gersh-Nesic Cubism began as an idea and then it became a style. Based on Paul Cézanne's three main ingredients - geometricity, simultaneity (multiple views) and passage - Cubism tried to describe, in visual terms, the concept of the Fourth Dimension. Cubism is a kind of Realism.

It is a conceptual approach to realism in art, which aims to depict the world as it is and not as it seems. This was the "idea." For example, pick up any ordinary cup. Chances are the mouth of the cup is round. Close your eyes and imagine the cup. The mouth is round. It is always round - whether you are looking at the cup or remembering the cup. To depict the mouth as an oval is a falsehood, a mere device to create an optical illusion. The mouth of a glass is not an oval; it is a circle. This circular form is its truth, its reality. The representation of a cup as a circle attached to the outline of its profile view communicates its concrete reality. In this respect, Cubism can be considered realism, in a conceptual, rather than perceptional way. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World A good example can be found in Pablo Picasso's Still Life with Compote and Glass (1914-15), where we see the circular mouth of the glass attached to its distinctive fluted goblet shape. The area that connects two different planes (top and side) to one another is passage.

The simultaneous views of the glass (top and side) is simultaneity. The emphasis on clear outlines and geometric forms is geometricity. To know an object from different points of view takes time, because you move the object around in space or you move around the object in space. Therefore, to depict multiple views (simultaneity) implies the Fourth Dimension (time). Two Groups of Cubists: There were two groups of Cubists during the height of the movement, 1909 to 1914. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Georges Braque (1882-1963) are known as the " Gallery Cubists " because they exhibited under contract with Daniel-Henri Kahnweiler's gallery.

Henri Le Fauconnier (1881-1946), Jean Metzinger (1883-1956), Albert Gleizes (181-1953), Fernand Léger (1881-1955), Robert Delaunay (1885-1941), Juan Gris (1887-1927), Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), Raymond Duchamp-Villon (1876-1918), Jacques Villon (1875-1963) and Robert de la Fresnaye (1885-1925) are know as the " Salon Cubists " because they exhibited in exhibitions supported by public funds (salons) Whose Painting Started Cubism? Textbooks often cite Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) as the first Cubist painting.This belief may be true, because the work displays the three essential ingredients in Cubism: geometricity, simultaneity and passage. But Les Demoiselles d'Avignon was not shown publicly until 1916.

Therefore, its influence was limited. Other art historians argue that Georges Braque's series of L'Estaque landscapes executed in 1908 were the first Cubist paintings. The art critic Louis Vauxcelles called these pictures nothing but little "cubes." Legend has it that Vauxcelles parroted Henri Matisse (1869-1954), who presided over the jury of1908 Salon d'Automne, where Braque first submitted his L'Estaque paintings. Vauxcelles' assessment stuck and went viral, just like his critical swipe at Matisse and his fellow Fauves. Therefore, we might say that Braque's work inspired the word Cubism in terms of a recognizable style, but Picasso's Demoiselles d'Avignon launched the principles of Cubism through its ideas. How Long Has Cubism Been a Movement? There are four periods of Cubism: Early Cubism or Cézannisme (1908-1910)

Question: Who founded the Cubism movement with Picasso?
Answer: Braque