At the turn of the 20th century, the world can been seen moving at a fast pace towards modernism, from political, economics and even arts. Many artist at the time felt the need to revitalize art so that they appeal to the modern audience by reflecting the life and struggles of the modern world.
Bibemus Quarry, 1900 Viaduct at L'Estaque, 1908
Paul Cézanne Georges Braque
Similar to Impressionism, the term " Cubism " was coined by a French art critique who ridiculed Brague's landscape painting in 1908 at L’Estaque in emulation of Cezanne. Inspired by post-impressionist artist, Paul Cézanne, the pioneers of cubism Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque deviated from the three dimensional perspective that was the standards of art since the renaissance, challenging viewers to understand the symbols and representations of the painting by using simplified geometrical elements. The depiction of cubist art was uniquely modern, subjects were reduced and fragmented into geometrical components and reconstructed from multiple perspectives, which resembles a kaleidoscope effect. At one point, cubist artists adopted a neutral colour palette, narrowing their focus on the composition and constitution instead.
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907
Pablo Picasso
oil on canvas (96 in × 92 in)
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon was one of the most iconic cubism masterpieces of Picasso. Five women from a brothel in Barcelona, portrayed in a distorted manner and composed of flat geometric planes which resembled a magazine collage, combining perspectives in an innovative way, challenging the idealized representation of women's femininity. Despite his denial, this painting also revealed Picasso's exposure to African masks, as he was known to collect exotic African masks and exposed to African art during the nine months taken to complete this painting. When the monumental painting was first exhibited in 1916, it was considered immoral, however after decades of endeavoring to understand the meaning behind the abstract painting, it is now an iconic representation and symbol of cubism.
Georges Braque (French, 1882–1963)
Analytic cubism (1908-1912) was the earliest phase of cubism, when artist started developing the concept on art, they observed subjects from various angles, before carefully and meticulously dissecting and reorganizing them as if looking through a crystal with broken planes. The overlapping fragmented angles highlights the flatness of the canvas. Other key traits to this phase of cubism includes the reduced and limited colour palette as they weren't studying colours but the lines and perspectives of the subjects. Viewers' attention are naturally drawn to the center of the canvas where most angles and lights converge.
Glass and bottle of Suze, 1912 Still Life with Red Lamp, 1916 Man in a Café, 1912
Pablo Picasso María Blanchard Juan Gris
Synthetic cubism (1913-1920) emerged when cubist artists continued experimenting by adding textures and patterns, they incorporated brighter colours and included a wider range of material to form dimensions which often resemble collages. This new form of cubism was also developed by Picasso himself. Magazine and newspaper cut outs were used to resemble different objects. While analytic cubism was about breaking down objects into fragments, synthetic cubism flattens the images, removing any trace of three-dimensional elements. Synthetic cubism integration of professional art combined with those made for commercial purpose could be considered the beginning of pop art.
References
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