braque with refs very final

8/12/2019 Braque With Refs Very FINAL.

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undulating patterns and vibrant colours. Braque, adopted and suited this artstyle which distorted reality for a distinct emotional effect.

This changed in 1907 when he rediscovered post-Impressionist techniques ofCezanne through attending exhibitions in Paris. Braque was drawn to theexpressive, tonal compositions, bold colours, colour-blocks and Cezannesmultiple perspectives.

Perhaps, most importantly, this was also the period that Braque met Picassoand their lives became increasingly conjoined (1909-1914) in their jointventure of a turning point in art history - Cubism. Through working closely withPicasso, Braque changed his style dramatically. Both he and Picassobecame aware of the geometric nature of the pattern in Cezannes work,which considered form and spatial relationships. This was the beginning ofCubism. By 1910 Picasso and Braque had developed Cubism into ananalytical style which captured the visual world in a way which was neither animitation of life, nor an illusion.

Synthetic Cubism started in 1912 when Braque took the lead by makingPaper colles (paper collages). Picasso adapted and developed these aswell. They made multi-media collages incorporating materials like paperwood. (By this time, they had already become more abstract in their work andBraque had been incorporating drawn labels or letters to his paintings).Collage now had a serious artistic platform.

With the advent of WWI, Braque went into service, but suffered a serioushead injury which resulted in long recovery process. When he was able topaint again (1917), he became detached from Cubism and his work changedfrom that moment on.


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Georges Braque; Le Grand Nue; (1908) Oil on canvas 139.5 x101 cm.Private collection Alex Maguy, Paris.

Braque painted this as a reaction to Picassos Les Demoiselles DAvignon .Though initially shocked by the potent violence, crude depiction, harsh anglesand the brothel theme, he did appreciate the ground breaking way Picassohad approached the painting. There was no perspective or mass; instead ofmimicking reality, the subjects were distorted. This was a venture into the

hitherto unknown territory of abstracting a piece by fragmenting the subjectcomponents into flattened panes of colour.Once Braque had taken time to reflect on Picassos piece, he drew inspirationfrom it and responded withLe Grand Nue (the Grand Nude).

Like Picasso, he chose a large canvas. Unlike Picasso, who made countlesssketches of the women in Les Demoiselles DAvignon, Braque worked frommemory instead of having models pose for him. Braque also chose, like, (orbecause of), Picasso, a figure in large scale, distortions, muted colours andbroke the background down into angular fragmented planes.

Referring to hisGrande Nu , Braque offered a fresh perspective on his andPicassos work, I couldnt portray a woman in all her natural loveliness. I


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havent the skill. No one has. I must, therefore, create a new sort of beauty,the beauty that appears to me in terms of volume, of line, of mass, of weight,and through that beauty interpret my subjective impression. Nature is a merepretext for a decorative composition, plus sentiment. It suggests emotion, andI translate that emotion into art. I want to expose the Absolute, and notmerely the factitiouswoman. (Gerhardus and Dietfried, 1977) .Whereas Les Demoiselles DAvignon was audaciously harsh in its covertvisual violence, (sharp angles, confrontational figural poses. etc.), Le GrandeNue displayed softness in the gentle rhythmic curves along the length of thebody. Picasso had tried to explain as much of the squatting figure as possibleby distorting, distending and dislocating different parts of the body. Braqueapproached this with more reasoning and sensitivity. He showed as much ofthe body as possible it is unnaturally broad for a single viewpointperspective; the left buttock is shown as if falling in line with the front hip andthigh. It is also highlighted to a lighter shade than parts of the body that wouldbe nearest the viewer. Most of the body nearest, and facing, us is shadedand dark, making it recede into the drapery behind the body. This belies whatwe would naturally see. The face of the nude is softened with roundnessunlike Picassos Les Demoiselles in which the faces show prominent starklines to mark the features. AlthoughBraques figure has an anonymity abouther face there is an ambiguity about her expression. However it is in no wayintimidating, harsh or threatening as the figures were in Les Demoiselles.

The limited palette is of muted blues and browns, so the prominent lines breakup the space with impact making the Cubist approach clearly visible.The subject, unlike Picassos figures, has her back turned to the viewer in amore modest pose; and although the angular forms of Cubism are present,there is a softness and femininity, which seems protective of the female form.The pose with the back turned is defensive, and the figure seems almost to besheltering among the sweeps of fabric, just as a child is turned towards themother for protection, while facing and engaging with us. There is a childishplayfulness in the pose with the way the leg at the back is bent at the knee,foot raised as if ready to play.The body is indicated as fluid and flowing with the rhythmic marking of thelines that identify it.It is juxtaposed against the angularity within the drapery. The painting is not

as abstracted as Picasso s work. Roundness of form is suggested in areaswith shadowing. Braque shows sensitivity to femininity as the softness ofform is allowed to emerge; the warm earthy colours of the figure andbackground, contrast with the cool blues of drapery. The negative space isintensified by the drama between warm tones of body set against cold bluedrapery, which in turn is set against the warmest colours that make up thebackground.This painting also shows some of the str ong influence of Cezannes work; the concentration on form and structure above colour, leaving the viewerunsure of the context surrounding the figure, and viewing from mixedperspectives.


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Developing this further, I changed the still life to a broken tailors dummy and,this time stuck a block of torn paper on a different background. This time, Iobserved and drew, but using continuous line as far as I could. I was farhappier with the effect of the muted contrast in the background which set offthe drawing. This piece has more drama with its diagonal mark making and jagged edges of paper.

I continued along these lines and found the work developed more with eachpiece.


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The piece I am most pleased with is the one where the background is vibrantwith dominant black and white contrast. The jugs were each drawn using adifferent instrument (different sticks and charcoals). Brown paper as thecarrier or background gives the effect of painted wood, similar to Braques

collage work where he frequently painted wood effects as part of his abstractcompositions. The coarse black sugar paper adds a contrast against the


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smoothness of the shiny brown parcel paper. I had cut and pastednewspaper on one side of the piece. This, along with the visible brush strokeson the edges gives the effect of crushed fabric. The print is still visiblethrough the paint and this adds segments of grey and white tones dependenton how the brushstrokes were applied in places.The outlines of the still life objects are undulating, curved and angled similarto Braques painting of the body in the Grande Nue. The idea of the drapery contrasting with the background (the lightness of theblue against the warm tones) is achieved as mentioned above.

The middle jug shows the contradictory shading of the form, where one ofthe sides with the handle appears to be nearer the viewer and the pouringside appears to be recessed. This is a falsehood of reality and I feel that Ihave successfully achieved Braques contradictory shading of the fore legbeing in shadow while the left buttock shows highlighting as if it were nearerus.

The negative space around the objects is just as important as the objectsthemselves in both images. There is a visible play with the use of mutedtones in Braques picture which make some parts of the image come out whileothers recede in unnatural ways.


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References

Art Directory (n.d) Georges Braque.[WWW] available at http://www.georges-braque.com/ [accessed 15 th March, 2013].

BBC.(2013)Pablo Picasso's 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'. [WWW] available athttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A898699[Accessed 16th April 2013].

Berenson, M. (1989) Picasso and Braque brothers in Cubism. [online journal]New York Times. 22nd Sept 1989. Available athttp://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/22/arts/picasso-and-braque-brothers-in-cubism.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm[ Accessed 15 th April 2013].

Bio (2013A)Georges Braque. Biography. [WWW] available athttp://www.biography.com/people/georges-braque-9224611[Accessed 15th April 2013].

Bio (2013B)Pablo Picasso. Biography. [WWW] available athttp://www.biography.com/people/pablo-picasso-9440021[Accessed 15th April 2013].

Bitici,V. (2011) Georges Braque from Fauvism to Cubism. [WWW] available athttp://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/10/georges-braque--from-fauvism-to-cubism [accessed 17 th March 2013].

Cooper, D. and Tinterow, G. (1983)The Essential Cubism Braque, Picasso &their friends . London: Tate Gallery Publications.

Gerhardus, M and Dietfried (1977)Cubism and Futurism The evolution of theself-sufficient picture. Oxford: Phaidon Press Limited.

Golding. J. (n.d.)"Cubism: A History and an Analysis 1907-1914":[online]available athttp://ardor.net/artlia/content/b/braque/lg_nude.txt [accessed 15th March2013].

Labedzki, A. (21/12/2009)Georges Braque - French Pioneer of Cubism ArtMovement. [online] available at http://ezinearticles.com/?Georges-Braque---French-Pioneer-of-Cubism-Art-Movement&id=1810431 [accessed 20 th March, 2013].

Leymarie, J (1961) BRAQUE, THE TASTE OF OUR TIME. Ohio, US: TheWorld Publishing Company.Moffat.C.A. (2013) Art Movements. Cubism. [WWW] available athttp://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/cubism/[Accessed 15th April2013].
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Nouvelles Images (n.d.) Georges Braque. [WWW] available athttp://www.nouvellesimages.com/Georges-Braque_id~artistes_aut~AUT000298[accessed 17th March 2013].

Oocities (2009)Le Grande Nu. [WWW] available athttp://www.oocities.org/tokyo/temple/9827/GrandNu.html [accessed 17 th March 2013].

Richardson, J. (1959) GEORGES BRAQUE. Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd.

Rosenblum, R.(1959) Cubism and Twentieth-Century Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Tripod (n.d.)Picasso, Braque and beyond. [online] available at http://hey-rube19.tripod.com/PandB.html [Accessed 16th April 2013].
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