Pablo Picasso and Cubism
...gmented three-dimensional shapes into multiple geometric planes. In the second stage, synthetic cubism, they reversed the process, putting abstract planes together to represent human figures, still lives, and other recognizable shapes (Cernuschi). The artwork that was considered Analytical Cubism was done during the time period of 1908-1912. Influenced by Cezanne’s later work, Picasso and Braque painted a series of landscape paintings in 1908. These paintings followed Cezanne’s pattern in their color scheme and in their simplification of nature to geometric shapes. The word Cubism came from French critic Louis Vauxelles after he viewed these paintings (Cernuschi). In Picasso’s Houses on the Hill, Horta de Ebro (1909, Museum of Modern Art), he gave architectural structures a three-dimensional, cubic quality, but he abandoned conventional three-dimensional perspective. Instead of being depicted one behind the other, buildings appear one on top of the other. He simplified every aspect of the painting according to a vocabulary of cubic shapes, not just the houses but the sky as well. By minimizing differences between earth and sky, Picasso made the canvas appear more unified, but he also introduced ambiguity by not differentiating solid from void. In addition, Picasso often used inconsistent light sources. In some parts of a painting, light appears to come from the left; in other parts, it comes from the right, the top, or even the bottom. Spatial planes intersect in ways that leave the spectator guessing whether angles are concave or convex (“Analytical..”). By inventing collage and by introducing elements from the real world in his canvases, Picasso avoided taking cubism to the level of complete abstraction and remained in the domain of tangible objects. Collage also initiated the synthetic phase of cubism ( 1912 – 1917). Whereas analytical cubism fragmented figures into geometric planes, synthetic cubism synthesized (combined) near-abstract shapes to create representational forms, such as a human figure or still life. Synthetic cubism also tended toward multiplicity. In Guitar, Sheet Music, and Wine Glass (1912, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas), for instance, Picasso combined a drawing of a glass, several spots of color, sheet music, newspaper, a wallpaper pattern, and a cloth that has a wood–grain pattern. Synthetic cubism may also combine different textures, such as wood grain, sand, and printed matter. Sometimes Picasso applied these textures as collage, by gluing textured papers on the canvas. In other cases the artist painted an area to look like wood or wallpaper, fooling the spectator by means of visual puns (Golding). Georges Braque was born May 13, 1882, in Argenteuil-sur-Seine, France (near Paris); he grew up there and in the port city of Le Havre. In 1899, following in his father's occupation, he became a house painter. By 1902, however, he had settled in Paris to pursue the study of painting as a fine art; he was impressed by the bold style of works exhibited in 1905 by the Fauves . The Fauves included Henri Matisse and Andre Derain, who painted with brilliant colors and a loose structure of forms to capture the most intense emotional response. Braque adopted Fauvism from 1906 to 1907 ( “Cubism” ). By 1908, however, Braque had shifted his attention to the paintings of Paul Cezanne, who was known to have restored order and discipline to the extremes of artistic expression. Braque's interest in Cézanne's strangely distorted forms and unconventional perspective led him to paint in the manner that came to be called cubist ( Cernuschi ). In his works of 1908 to 1913 Braque conducted a study of the effects of light and perspective and the technical means that painters use to represent these effects. He seemed to question most of the standard artistic ideas. In his village scenes, for example, Braque frequently reduced an architectural structure to a geometric form, a cube, so that it looked both flat and three-dimensional. In this way Braque called attention to the very nature of visual illusion and artistic representation. Picasso and Brague began to work closely in 1909. Both artists produced paintings of neutralized color and complex patterns of faceted form, now called analytic cubism, in about 1910 to 1912, as demonstrated in Braque's Violin and Pitcher. Both also began to experiment with collage, a technique of constructing an image from the materials of everyday life—newspapers, labels, pieces of fabric. The fertile collaboration of Braque and Picasso continued until Braque enlisted in the French army in 1914; he was severely wounded in World War I (1914-1918) and resumed his artistic career alone in 1917 ( “Analytical..” ). After the war, Braque developed a more personal style, characterized by brilliant color and textured surfaces and, following his move to the Normandy seacoast, the reappearance of the human figure. He painted many still lives during this time, maintaining his emphasis on structure. He continued to work throughout his life, producing a considerable number of distinguished paintings, graphics, and sculptures, all imbued with a pervasive contemplative quality( “Analytical”). He died August 31, 1963, in Paris. Picasso Pablo (1881-1973), was the dominant figure in the art of the 1900's. Although best known for his paintings, Picasso also produced sculptures, drawings, prints, and ceramics. He was highly imaginative and original, borrowing from historical examples and creating new styles. Picasso not only created enduring works of art but also expanded our definition of what art could be. His art was very influential among artists of his time as well as among later artists. Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain. His earliest works show that he was technically skilled in drawing and painting by the age of 15. In the late 1890's, the young painter became involved with a group of artists and intellectuals in Barcelona. He made his first trip to Paris, then the center of painting, in 1900. About this time, Picasso was experimenting with a number of established styles, ...