Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and the beginnings of Analytic Cubism

       Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque are considered by many to be the founders of Cubism. Indeed, the two worked together from 1909 to 1914, drawing inspiration from recently deceased artist Paul Cezanne to create the style of Cubism, which eventually evolved into Surrealism.
       Before meeting Picasso, Georges Braque was invested primarily in Fauvism, which was a style that Henri Matisse worked in that utilized bright colors and loosely defined forms (similar to Impressionism) to achieve an emotional response (similar to Expressionism).

The Great Trees, L'Estaque (1906-07) by Georges Braque, oil on canvas, 31.5", 27.75".

        Compare this work side-by-side with one of Matisse's Fauvist works.

Luxe, Calme et Volupte by Henri Matisse (1904-05).

       Pablo Picasso and Braque first met in 1908, and both artists frequently exchanged ideas as they worked. These discussions eventually evolved into Cubism, which was a new take on the familiar academic rules of linear perspective. Normally, linear perspective creates the illusions of three dimensions through receding lines and shapes. Cubism takes a different spin on linear perspective by breaking the elements into polygons and re-arranging them in ways that still allow the viewer to discern their forms but also shatter the formal rules of perspective at the same time.

Pablo Picasso, Three Women, 1907-1908, Oil on Canvas, 6' 6.75" * 7' 6.5"

        One of Pablo Picasso's most famous cubist works is Three Women. It is effectively the second draft of a similar work that he had painted a year earlier, titled Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907, Oil on Canvas, 8' * 7' 8".

       As can be seen, both works feature nude women, but when Cubism is applied, the women's bodies and the backgrounds of both works are fragmented into shapes that aren't always perfectly symmetrical, as one might expect from an academic work. It was this lack of symmetry as well as foreshortening that challenged the viewer to look more carefully at the space within the works. The inspiration for these two paintings stemmed primarily from Picasso's inspiration from some imported African masks that he got a hold of, and his experiences in a brothel, which he decided to convert into these works.

This mask, from West Africa, is considered by many to be the inspiration for Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.

       Taking inspiration from Picasso, Braque also began dabbling in Cubism as well, bringing in the theme of musical instruments in 1909 when he went to Paris for the winter.

Georges Braque, Violin and Palette, 1909, Oil on Canvas, 36.125", 16.875"

       Cubism would continue on to pave the way for Dada and Surrealism.



















Sources:
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/10/georges-braque--from-fauvism-to-cubism#slide=1
http://www.georgesbraque.org/
http://www.henri-matisse.net/artofmatisse.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm
http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_3_1_8c.html
http://www.moma.org/explore/conservation/demoiselles/history.html