7.2 — Cubism
Cubism (c. 1907–1914) fractures form and space into interlocking planes, presenting multiple viewpoints simultaneously. Led by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in Paris, the movement questioned Renaissance perspective and set foundations for abstraction and collage.
Origins and Breakthroughs
Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” (1907) shattered conventional space with jagged planes and mask-like faces. Braque’s Cézanne-inspired landscapes (L’Estaque) simplified houses into faceted volumes, prompting the term “cubes.”
Definition: Simultaneity
Showing multiple angles or moments at once—central to Cubism’s challenge to single-point perspective.
Analytic Cubism (1909–1912)
Forms are broken into small, interpenetrating facets; muted palettes of ochres, grays, and greens focus attention on structure rather than color.
- Picasso: “Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler,” “Ma Jolie.”
- Braque: “Violin and Palette,” still lifes with stenciled letters and fractured instruments.
- Features: Overlapping planes, shallow space, shifting viewpoints, and partial legibility of objects.
Synthetic Cubism (1912–1914)
Color returns; forms simplify into larger shapes; collage and found materials enter the picture plane.
- Collage / Papier Collé: Newspaper, wallpaper, faux woodgrain, and labels pasted with paint (Braque’s “Fruit Dish and Glass,” Picasso’s “Still Life with Chair Caning”).
- Signs and Letters: Stenciled type integrates everyday visual language.
- Spatial Play: Flatness and depth toggle through pattern, shadow, and overlapping cutouts.
Key Concepts and Techniques
- Facet and Plane: Objects decomposed into geometric facets, reassembled on the canvas.
- Limited Depth: Shallow, interlocked spaces replace deep perspective.
- Multiple Perspectives: Heads, instruments, bottles seen from frontal and profile angles simultaneously.
- Texture and Materiality: Collage inserts real-world surfaces, questioning what constitutes “painting.”
Circles and Influence
- Salon Cubists: Metzinger, Gleizes, Léger, Delaunay, and Le Fauconnier exhibited in public Salons; often more color and larger scale.
- Orphism (Delaunay): Pure color harmonies and circular forms extend Cubist structure toward abstraction.
- Fernand Léger: Tubular “mechanical” figures and bold contrasts foreshadow machine-age aesthetics.
Note: From Cubism to the Avant-Garde
Cubism’s spatial revolution influenced Futurism, Constructivism, De Stijl, and later abstract movements. Its use of collage opened pathways to Dada, Surrealism, Pop, and Conceptual art.
Looking Ahead
Next, Chapter 7.3 examines Futurism and the Machine Age, where speed, technology, and dynamism become central aesthetic forces.