CUBISM

Cubism is a more modern art movement in which forms are abstracted by using an analytical approach to the object and painting the basic geometric solid of the subject. Cubism is a backlash to the impressionist period in which there is more of an emphasis of light and color. Cubism itself follows Paul Cezanne statement that "Everything in nature takes its form from the sphere, the cone, and the cylinder." in which these 3 shapes are used to depict the object of the painting. Another way that the cubist expressed their painting was by showing different views of an object put together in a way that you can not actually see in real life. The Cubism period stated in Paris in 1908, reached its peak in 1914, and continued into the 20's. The leaders in the cubist era were Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque . Other painters from this period include Fernand Leger, Francis Picabia, and Roger De La Fresnaye.

Pablo Picasso was trained to paint by his father from a very young age, and absorbed his influence as well as that of the traditions of Spanish art. By his early 20s, he had moved to Paris, and quickly changed his earth-toned colors to a palette which was more emotionally expressive. His first truly original works were those of his Blue period. The young artist was facing some difficult times after the death of his closest friend, and was also experiencing financial troubles during his first years in Paris. His paintings of this time were created in predominantly blue tones, and the images were of immaciated people who look like they are down on their luck.

His blue period only lasted a few years, and was quickly supplanted with brighter colors when the artist's life circumstances improved. Collectors started to buy his works, so he was less financially worried. Also, he is believed to have fallen in love at this time. Historians call this his Rose period because of the pinks and reds that started to appear in his works at this time. For some reason, the lives of carnival people was one of the subjects that was common in these paintings.

Les Demoiselles de Avignon was Picasso's earliest work which broke dramatically from his figurative and poetic works of the first part of his life. The painting relates directly to the prostitution district of Paris. The women's facial features disintegrate into primitive masks, and their bodies are so hard-edged that it looks as if it would cut you if you touched them. At this time, Picasso was increasingly influenced by the raw expressive power of African and Oceanic tribal arts. The women are simultaneously seductive and horrifying. It would take a while before this work would become acceptable to even the most progressive members of artistic circles. But this was the painting that changed everything for Picasso.

After 1909, Picasso and Braque began a more systematic study of structure which we know as "Analytical Cubism". In this period, they removed bright colors from their compositions, favoring monochromatic earth tones so that they could focus primarily on the structure. The paintings of this period look as if they have deconstructed objects and rearranged them on the canvas. One goal of this is to depict different viewpoints simultaneously. Traditionally, an object is always viewed from one specific viewpoint and at one specific (stopped) moment in time. Picasso and Braque felt that this was too limiting, and desired to represent an object as if they are viewing it from several angles or at different moments in time. Innovative as this was, the danger was that many of the works of this period are completely incomprehensible to the viewer, as they start to lose all sense of form.

After the artists had grown tired of the Analytical period, they began to develop what is known as the Synthetic period. Picasso and Braque continue to introduce new and controversial changes with the introduction of collaged objects into their paintings. Still Life with Chair Cane was one of the first of these experiments, and integrates chair caning with the paint, framed with a length of rope. Guitar, Sheet Music and Glass includes various collaged papers: wall paper, a page of sheet music, a drawing of an abstracted glass, and a newspaper clipping. Incidentally, this clipping includes the headline, "The battle has begun" (in French), which refers the revolution of representation the artists are achieving by introducing objects of the real world into their "paintings". It truly was a revolution which would change the face of modern art for many years to come.

Picasso cannot be accused of sticking to one style for too long, so if you don't happen to like his cubist period, other images are perhaps more pleasing to a general public. The collaboration between Picasso and Braque was ended by the First World War. After this, Picasso reverted to a more Classicist mode of representation. It is believed that he did this as a reaction to society's disillusionment and shock from the horrors of the war. Perhaps, in its own way, it was a way of returning his own psyche to a state of order and peace. Whatever the reason, this was not a final stage in Picasso's career. He soon continued to produce cubist works again, always finding new ways to express himself with the style.

think d-i-f-f-e-r-e-n-t
think holistic
that's essentially
cubism