Cubism

Cubism (Origin)

Cubism was a revolutionary style of the modern art developed in Paris by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braques in 1907. Cubism was the first style of abstract style that was developed in a confused fast developing world. It was an attempt by artists to revive the traditions of Western art. Cubism tried to describe in visual terms a new way of seeing perspective.

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907

During it's four decades, society has seen a big technological progress where inventions like telephone, cinematography,  photography, the motor car and the airplane were invented. The problem for the artists was that photography began to replace painting as the tool for the artists to sit illustrating cars, planes and other technologies, yet this was not the challenge the artist was seeking at the time. This is why artists needed a ‘new way of seeing’ that was called Cubism which outspread the sensibilities of art in the same way technology has been expanding in communication and travel.

"Picasso and Braque developed their ideas on Cubism around 1907 in Paris and their starting point was a common interest in the later paintings of Paul Cezanne"

The Influence of Cezanne

PAUL CÉZANNE (1839-1906)
'Bibemus Quarry', 1895 (oil on canvas)

Cezanne saw the abstract aspect in the object seeing different ways in the arrangement of colour and construction on a two-dimensional surface. It was then that Cubists such as Picasso and Braque were appealed by this abstract approach and took to the extreme in their early paintings such as Picasso`s 'Factory at Horta de Ebbo' done in 1909 and Braque's 'Viaduct at L'Estaque' done in 1908

The Cubist vision

PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973)
'Still Life with mandolin and Guitar'

The cubists saw perspective as an obstacle that had to be  overcome. Pictures from perspective could only work from one viewpoint thus restricting their options. as an image is is drawn from perspective the result is frozen, like a picture, this was the  thing cubists wanted to overcome and reach beyond geometry and perspective. 

"They wanted to introduce the idea of 'relativity' - how the artist perceived and selected elements from the subject, fusing both their observations and memories into the one concentrated image. To do this the Cubists examined the way that we see."

Cubism Overview

Started Around 1907 in Paris by Pablo Picasso and George Barque.

The first abstract style of modern art

It Ignores the common perspective drawing and viewers gets to see many views at one time

Painting had the new experimentation using collage

African Culture influenced the art greatly.

Two distinctive Cubist Style : Analyitical Cubism and Synthetic Cubism

It influenced many other following arts 

Sources:

Arty Factory. 2011. Cubism - The First Style Of Abstract Art. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/art_movements/cubism.htm. [Accessed 08 April 13].