CUBISM

"Cubism is like standing at a certain point on a

mountain and looking around. If you go higher,
things will look different; if you go lower, again they
will look different. It is a point of view."

Cubism: Introduction

Cubism was a truly revolutionary style

of modern art developed by Pablo
Picasso and Georges Braques in 1907.
They were greatly inspired by African
sculpture, by painters Paul Czanne and
Georges Seurat,and by the Fauves.
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."

Cubism: Introduction

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
Picasso and Braque initiated the movement
when they followed the advice of Paul
Czanne, who in 1904 said artists should
treat nature "in terms of the cylinder, the
sphere and the cone."
French art critic Louis Vauxcelles to describe
them as "bizarreries cubiques," thus giving
the movement its name.

Distinct Characteristics
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Geometricity
Conceptual, instead of perceptual,
reality
Distortion and deformation of known
figures and forms in the natural world
Passage, the overlapping and
interpenetration of planes
Simultaneity or multiple views,
different points of view made visible
on one plane

Still Life with Compote and Glass

Two Groups of Cubists

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 Lger (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 known as the "Salon Cubists"
because they exhibited in exhibitions supported by public funds
(salons).

WHENDIDITSTARTTOFLOURISH?
HowLongHasCubismBeenaMovement?

There are four periods of Cubism

1. Early Cubism
or Czannisme (1908-1910)
2. Analytic Cubism (1910-12)
3. Synthetic Cubism (1912-1914)
4. Late Cubism (1915-present)

Two Kinds of Cubist Paintings

1.

Analytical Cubism (1910)

analyzed the subject from many different

viewpoints and reconstructed it within a geometric
frame work
analytic cubists focused on forms like the cylinder,
sphere and the cone
reduced natural forms to their basic geometric
parts and then tried to reconcile these essentially
3-D parts with the 2-D picture plane.
use of a subdued and limited palette of colors
color was almost non-existent except for the use
of a monochromatic scheme that often included
grey, blue and ochre.

.
.

.
.

Two Kinds of Cubist Paintings

2. Synthetic Cubism (1912)

moved away from the unified monochrome

surfaces of Analytic Cubism to a more
direct, colorful and decorative style
incorporated the use of different textures
and materials
two main techniques they used were
collage (from the French "coller", meaning
to stick) and papier colles (from the French,
meaning pasted paper)

Still Life with Chair

Caning

The chair caning in the picture in fact

comes from a piece of printed oilcloth
and not, as the title suggests, an actual
piece of chair caning. But the rope
around the canvas is very real, and
serves to evoke the carved border of a
cafe table.

WHENWASTHEDECLINE?

The significance of Cubism began to

decline in France in the mid 1920s as
many of the style's early practitioners
would turn to other focuses.

Influential Artist and

their Artworks

Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso was born
on October 25, 1881
in Malaga, Spain, as
the son of an art and
drawing teacher
He passed the entrance
examination for the
Barcelona School of
Fine Arts at the age
of 14 in just one day
and was allowed to
skip the first two
classes

Pablo Picasso
Known for depicting
figures from multiple,
exaggerated
viewpoints
Geometric implications
and contrasting
vantage-points for
different features
became a central
factor in his artwork.
Known for
deconstructing and
abstracting his work..

Les Demoiselles dAvignon

The Accordionist (1911)

Georges Braque
Georges Braque developed his
painting skills while
working for his father, a
house decorator.
He moved to Paris in 1900 to
study where he was drawn
to the work of the Fauve
artists, including Matisse,
Derain and Dufy, as well
as the late landscapes of
Czanne.
Meeting Picasso marked a
huge turning point in
Braque's development and
together they evolved as
leaders of Cubism

Born in Argenteuil, Georges Braque was encouraged

to paint by both his father and grandfather who were
house painters by trade as well as amateur artists.
After becoming an apprentice house painter in 1899,
Braque went to Paris where he continued his
apprenticeship and briefly studied art.
In 1904, he set up his own studio.
After his second exhibition in the Salon des
Indpendants in 1907, he was acknowledged as a
member of the avant-garde. It was at this point in his
career that he met Pablo Picasso.
In sharp contrast to the volatile and bohemian
Picasso, Braque was a calm, confident, reflective,
and disciplined artist.

Viaduct at LEstaque

Violin and Pitcher

Juan Gris
Juan Gris was born in Madrid
and his real name was Jos
Victoriano Gonzlez-Prez.
Gris studied engineering
drawing before he became an
artist.
He was a friend and neighbour
of Picasso in Paris.
After Picasso and Braque, Juan
Gris is thought of as the third
Cubist but he was the artist
who was the most
consistently dedicated to the
style.

Juan Gris
Gris painted mostly still lifes in a
synthetic cubist style often using
bold colours and collage
techniques.
Although his paintings may appear
quite methodical in their design he
was quoted as saying, 'I prefer the
emotion that corrects the rule',
which suggests his instinct and not
his intellect was the controlling
factor in his art.
Gris also created sculptures and
worked on set designs for
Diaghilev's ballets.
Juan Gris died at the young age of 39.

Still Life before an Open Window

(1915)

The Guitar (1914)