A to Z Challenge, Cubism, Picasso

#AtoZChallenge: Cubism (Picasso)

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What is Cubism?

Cubism is an art movement stablished in the early 20th century with the purpose of breaking a subject down into different perspectives all in the same piece of work. Here’s an example:

—Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, Marcel Duchamp, 1912, oil on canvas, 147 cm × 89.2 cm (​57 7⁄8 in × ​35 1⁄8 in), Philadelphia Museum of Art

Why is Cubism important?

From Tate:

Cubism opened up almost infinite new possibilities for the treatment of visual reality in art and was the starting point for many later abstract styles including constructivism and neo-plasticism.

By breaking objects and figures down into distinct areas – or planes – the artists aimed to show different viewpoints at the same time and within the same space and so suggest their three dimensional form. In doing so they also emphasized the two-dimensional flatness of the canvas instead of creating the illusion of depth. This marked a revolutionary break with the European tradition of creating the illusion of real space from a fixed viewpoint using devices such as linear perspective, which had dominated representation from the Renaissance onwards.

Are there different types of Cubism?

Yes, analytical and synthetic are the two main types of Cubism.

Analytical

Cubism began with works composed of “interweaving of planes and lines in muted tones of blacks, grey, and ochres (Tate). The following shows the muted colors and planes:

—Glass on a Table, Georges Braque, 1909-10, oil on canvas, 34.9 x 38.7 cm, Tate Gallery, London

Synthetic

The movement morphed into this type when works began to have “simpler shapes and brighter colours. Synthetic cubist works also often include collaged real elements such as newspapers. The inclusion of real objects directly in art was the start of one of the most important ideas in modern art” (Tate). An example:

—Still Life with Compote and Glass, Pablo Picasso, 1914-15. Oil on canvas. 25 1/4 x 31 1/2 in. (64.1 x 80 cm). Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio. © 2009 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Who were some of the prominent Cubists?

From emptyeasel.com:

The most famous Cubist is probably Picasso, with Braque a distant second. . . even though he was just as instrumental as Picasso was in founding Cubism.

Paul Cézanne (although not a part of the Cubist movement himself) is often credited with sparking Braque’s first attempts at painting a Cubist landscape. Cézanne’s paintings separated objects into basic shapes—cubes and spheres, mostly—which directly led to Cubism’s use of fractured, geometric planes.

Other Cubist artists include Juan Gris (whose work seems to almost bridge Cubism with Art Deco) and artists like Marcel Duchamp (whose artwork actually spanned a variety of styles and movements).

  14 comments for “#AtoZChallenge: Cubism (Picasso)”

  3. My favorite is Paul Klee… I find quilting ideas lurking in his art.

    • Klee is wonderful, Cheryl. I have been meaning to tell you that I am thinking of you regarding your child. My best, Denise

  5. There’s something about the style that’s highly attractive, like Martha says, maybe the fractured elements. Trying to imagine how they’d fit together. The analytical part of the brain kicking in. Great post, Denise. Enjoyed looking at the works.

    • I used to not like “modern” or “abstract” art very much, but after learning even a little bit more about it, I appreciate it very much more. Thanks, Silvia!

  6. Just saw Picasso next to Braque at the Honolulu Museum of art, of all places. Awesome

  7. Hi Denise – I hope the comment takes this time … I’m going to love your posts – and am looking up the other artists you mention as you go through … they’ll be fascinating – cheers Hilary

    • Oh no! Did I miss a comment? WordPress has had issues lately. Thank you, Hilary. Such a fascinating group of artists that were friends at the turn of the century!

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