Cubism

The term “cubism” was coined in 1908, when French art critic Louis Vauxcelles facetiously referred to "bizarre cubiques". He was describing a work by artist Georges Braque, who with Pablo Picasso had begun pioneering the cubist style the previous year.

The two men met in Montmartre, Paris. Both were influenced by Paul Cezanne, the founder of modern painting, and worked together until 1914 (when Braque went to fight in World War One, while Picasso avoided military service).

During the early years of the 20th century, European painting and – to a smaller degree - sculpture was revolutionised by cubism, which emphasised flat, two-dimensional surfaces.

In its avant-garde way it rejected traditional notions of perspective, fixed angles, colour and space. Subjects were broken into fragments, offering views of several aspects at the same time.

In the movement’s first stages – sometimes called “analytical cubism” - it was Picasso’s classic painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, featuring five angular female nudes, that epitomised the style.

By this time, cubism had become so popular that critics were referring to a “school” of cubism – many artists influenced by Braque and Picasso.

The movement’s second phase was known as “synthetic cubism”, and began in 1912. It was decorative, colourful and stressed the combination of distinct superimposed forms that were painted or even pasted on to the canvas.

 

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