Cubism

Cubism was a truly revolutionary style of modern art developed by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

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 revitalize 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.

CUBISM

•Fitting all angles of a three-dimensional object in the same two-dimensional picture

Analytic Cubism

Cubism had two distinct phases. The early phase which lasted until about 1912 was called Analytical Cubism.

Here the artist analyzed the subject from many different viewpoints and reconstructed it within a geometric framework, the overall effect of which was to create an image that evoked a sense of the subject.

These fragmented images were unified by the use of a subdued and limited palette of colors.

Georges Braque (1882-1963)Violin and Jug (oil on canvas, 1910)

Synthetic Cubism

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, colors, 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 plane.

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)Still Life with Mandolin and Guitar (oil on canvas, 1924)

Fruit Dish Georges Braque, 1908

Head of a Woman

Georges Braque, 1909

Violin and Newspaper (Musical Forms)

Georges Braque, 1912

Still Life with Music Scroll Georges Braque, 1937

The Echo Georges Braque, 1954

Composition with Skull

Pablo Picasso, 1908

Head of a Woman

Pablo Picasso, 1908

Bread and dish with fruits on the table

Pablo Picasso, 1909

Woman and pears (Fernande)

Pablo Picasso, 1909

Guitar

Pablo Picasso, 1912

The Student

Pablo Picasso, 1919

Untitled

Pablo Picasso, 1937

Plaster Head and Arm Pablo Picasso, 1925

Bullfight Pablo Picasso, 1934

Crying Woman

Pablo Picasso, 1937

Bottles and Knife

Juan Gris, 1911

Blue Landscape

Nathan Altman, 1912

Portrait of a Philosopher

Lyubov Popova, 1915

Music

Jury Annenkov1922

Still Life with Violin

Gino Severini, 1964