Cubism

Cubism is another thing that I found interesting because I feel that it is opposite of Pointillism. Cubism is taking an objecct and breaking it down and interpreting it in abstract ways, such as cubes. The pioneers of  this technique are Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Many critics view Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) as the original cubism piece.

In this piece you see five women, but the women are not drawn to detail. The are chopped up into different shapes, which is the definition of cubism. The sharp angles and rough edges give this piece a great shape. Another pioneer piece of cubism is one from Braque named, Houses at L'Estaque (1908). One critic specifically said it looked like he used cubes in his piece to create an image of something else.

                                        

There are two forms of cubism. They are both very different, but use the same techniques. The first one that emerged was named, Analytical Cubism. In this form, artist use shapes to create a recognizable picture. In each piece you can tell what the artist is trying to create with the shapes. In the two examples that I will show you can tell what each is. In Braque's 1908 piece named, Large Nude, you can tell that it is a woman in the piece, and in his 1909 piece, Arlequin, specifically shows a man.  

                                        

Large Nude, 1908

                                     

Arlequin, 1908

The second forms of cubism is Synthetic Cubism, and this took cubism to the heights! In this form, artist used shapes, but also brought other mediums into the piece. They also overlapped different mediums into the piece. The two examples I will show you are from Picasso and Braque. Picasso's, Bowl of Fruit, is very interesting because I can not clearly see a bowl of fruit, but if I look closely in the middle I see a curved shape and a round shape, that could be a banana and an apple. In Synthetic Cubism, more bright colors are used. In Braque's Bottle, Newspaper, Pipe and Glass, he uses each of those mediums into his piece. 

Bowl of Fruit

Bottle, Newspaper, Pipe and Glass

Bailey