PABLO PICASSO, 1907

“LES DEMOISELLES D’ AVIGNON”

THE FIRST “CUBIST” STYLE PAINTING

What happened to realistic looking people!!?

Cubism, movement in modern art, especially in painting, invented by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and French artist Georges Braque in 1907 and 1908. Although the look of cubism and the ideas behind it evolved over time, cubism retained certain general characteristics throughout. Cubist paintings create an ambiguous sense of space through geometric shapes that flatten and simplify form, spatial planes that are broken into fragments, and forms that overlap and penetrate one another. . Art historians generally consider cubism to have been the most influential art movement of the first half of the 20th century.

Simply stated, Cubism is just breaking down objects into basic shapes. See how this face can be abstracted into a Cubist style portrait.

See how these have been abstracted

Guitar on the Table

The Three Musicians (1921)

Pablo Picasso

Picasso is known as one of the “inventors” of Cubism. He was also the first to use collage in art, incorporating cut paper shapes into his paintings.

The first cubist paintings also stood out because they avoided using a consistent light source, unlike paintings that seek to create the illusion of three-dimensional space. In some parts of cubist paintings, light appears to cast shadows from the left; in others, from the right, the top, or the bottom. In addition, planes intersect in ways that leave the spectator guessing whether angles are concave or convex. A delight in confusing the spectator is a regular feature of cubism.

Portrait

George Braque-portrait

Picasso, 1932 Girl Before a MirrorMarcel Duchamp, 1912

Nude Descending a Staircase

Cubism influences other artists and begins to evolve

See how students abstract portraits CUBIST STYLE!

Eagle Crest Academy