Cubism developed in two stages between 1907-1914: Analytic Cubism and Synthetic Cubism. Analytic Cubism shattered objects into geometric forms and removed color, while Synthetic Cubism reintroduced color through techniques like papier collé and collage. The main Cubist artists were Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who depicted objects from multiple perspectives and blurred the lines between art and reality. They were influenced by Paul Cézanne's retrospective in 1907 and sought to represent 3D objects on a 2D surface in a new way.
3. Analytic Cubism:
• Objects are shown from many viewpoints at
once so that solid forms are shattered.
• They become fractured, geometric shapes
compressed into a sliver of space and flattened
against the canvas.
• Space is treated as if it were a solid, tangible
mass.
• Confusion is enhanced because colour is
removed and everything is painted in browns
and greys with a few fragmented black outlines.
• Addition of stenciled text towards the end of
Analytic Cubism.
4. Synthetic Cubism:
• Was developed c.1912
• Colour was re-introduced with two technical
innovations called papier collé and collage.
– Papier collé involves sticking coloured paper onto the
canvas and was invented by Braque.
– Collage was subsequently developed by Picasso and
involved including all kinds of material such as
newspaper or fabric in the painting. Both techniques
bridged the gap between art and life by sticking bits of
the real world onto the canvas.
• They also drew attention to the fact that a
painting it is a flat object and blurred the line
between painting and sculpture.
5. Cubist Artists
Main Players Followers
• Pablo Picasso (after c.1910)
• Georges Braque • Juan Gris
• Robert Delaunay
• Marcel Duchamp
• Le Fauconnier
• Metzinger
6. Influences…
Cézanne had a huge
retrospective of his
work in Paris, 1907 –
seen by Picasso.
Braque already
working in l'Estaque
region.
7. The Basics behind Cubism…
• On the left and right
are two different
perspectives of the
cube at the top.
• On the bottom is a
combination of the
two perspectives,
producing a strange-
looking geometric
form.
10. "M. Braque scorns form and reduces
everything, sites, figures and houses, to
geometric schemas and cubes.”
Louis Vauxcelles on the opening of the
Salon d’Automne, 1908.
51. And Finally…
• 1924 marks the end of the Cubist Epoch –
although Gris remained a Cubist until his
death – even though is health faded.
• Braque’s work was too personal for any
category.
• Picasso moves into a more surreal phase
through his ‘Three Dancers’ painting.