The Coming of CubismNatasha Ash

Art History 202Spring 2014

Analytic Cubism• Analytic cubism was first started by two artists, Georges Braque and Pablo

Picasso, when they came together they used experimentation. Which led to abstraction of subjects and space. Braque and Picasso’s use of space and shape are what made their style to unique and special. The subjects in the painting lose their coherent shapes and their relation to one another in the cube shapes. With cubism artists rejected the traditional ideas of techniques of perspective and copying nature, instead these artists’ paintings lack a depth, are confined to geometric shapes, and the overall composition.• These paintings lack the foreground and background of depth. The shapes are all

on the same plane, there is just shapes and space. The reason for the lack of depth is to keep a minimal realism. More realistic and natural paintings have the different levels of planes, foreshortening, and shading. This is that idea that there is not just one view point, the space was done in a different way, different perspective. Everything in the paintings were given equal importance, the figures, the background, and the objects.

• Braque and Picasso used geometric shapes, in these shapes you can see the different views and perspectives that are used. In some you can see the frontal view or others you can see the side view of a person. They observed this kind of style from African art, the way they used shapes and masks. Instead of giving texture, color, and space they would use the fragmented objects with these various views. To be able to see what is in the shapes, they would puts some small details likes; the strings of a violin, sheet music, or some human features.• The composition of these are very important, the way the shapes are

together, the colors, the small details of features. Braque and Picasso used grey, browns, and blacks for all of the overlapping. In the paintings you can see the strokes of their paint brush, seeing blend of color and moving into another shape. Although these are abstract paintings it is important how they fit together.

Conclusion• Braque’s and Picasso’s came together with their

new style. Braque had moved into the military, while Picasso moved on with his style and changed it slightly. But with every painting the subject causes slight changes and editions. Most of the paintings are so abstract they it makes the subject matter unrecognizable, with the painting to the right you can see the face at the top center of the painting. You can see the body and the arms, slowly being able to put the pieces together, with the different view points. You can even make out the pipe and part of a chair within all of the different shapes. They wanted to challenge the viewers and transform art with their style.

The Poet Pablo Picasso

Georges Braque, French (1882-1963)Violin and Candlestick1910Oil on canvasSan Francisco Museum of Modern Art

This is painting you are able to tell the shapes of the violins very well, compared to Braque’s later paintings. He keeps within the natural earth colors and he used the black to outline the objects and the different shapes. This painting is not as abstract as many of the other pieces, the outer edges of the painting are just square shapes only down through the brushstrokes and the colors, while most is happening in the center of the painting.

Georges Braque, French (1882-1963)Violin and Palette1909-1910Oil on canvasGuggenheim Museum

There the artist is moving toward the abstraction of ordinary subjects and space. None of the objects have there natural shapes, you can see the violin with all of the sharp edges, the sheet music, and the palette. Although there is dark shading around the violin, which makes it look a little more in front of everything, when most of the subjects are on the same plane, bringing all of these elements together.

Pablo Picasso, Spanish (1881-1973)Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler1910Oil on canvasArt Institute of ChicagoThis is a portrait is a well known art dealer in Paris. It breaks up the objects into the small parts, to give it the different views and perspectives. They also arranged everything to make a perfect composition. All of this allowed for the viewer to really analyze the pieces and to look at all of the different perspectives.

Pablo Picasso, Spanish (1881-1973)Ma Jolie1911-1912Oil on canvasMuseum of Modern Art

This is a portrait done by Picasso, but not like a traditional one. It is difficult for a viewer to make out the different figures and features. But this is a carefully organized design, with the way the brush strokes are laid, the different shapes together, the colors, and where the different body parts are placed. You can see the head, shoulders, and the body. There are even a musical staff and writings.

Pablo Picasso, Spanish (1881-1973)Girl with Mandolin1910Oil on canvasThe Museum of Modern ArtThis is considered one of the most beautiful cubism paintings, but Picasso referred to it as unfinished because of how eligible it is. That gives an idea of how abstract Braque and Picasso wanted their pieces to be. This piece is a lot softer and smoother than others.

Exciting

• It is clear that Braque and Picasso didn’t just do this to have fun, they knew what they were doing. They put these together carefully, knowing everything mattered. They wanted the viewers to think, to concentrate, to understand what they are looking at. It is amazing to see all that is in these paintings, all that’s behind all of these abstract pieces. There are a lot of different aspects to these paintings although they look simpler and less detailed.

Works Cited• Choi, Elizabeth. "Picasso and Early Cubism with Braque." VCU. N.p., 2004. Web. 8 May 2014.

<http://www.people.vcu.edu/~djbromle/modern04/elizabethc/index.htm>.• Croddy, Stephen W. The Semiotic Analysis of Analytic Cubism. Kent: Semiotic Society of

America, 2001. ProQuest Central. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.harford.edu/pqcentral/docview/213748852/41A9277EC2FC4D76PQ/1?accountid=11292>.

• Flint, Lucy. "Pablo Picasso." Online Collection. Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 2014. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artwork/3429>.

• "Georges Braque." SFMOMA. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2014. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/89>.

• Rewald, Sabine. "Cubism." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm>.

• Stokstad, Marilyn, and Michael W. Cothren. Art History Eighteenth to Twenty-First Century Art. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Print.