Cubism

Cubism was an art movement unlike any other. It was the total abandonment of taste and style of the day, which ultimately created something new and revolutionary. Cubism not only changed painting and sculpture as we know it but it also affected other realms such as music, architecture and literature. It was through cubism that human senses could be challenged. As early as 1907, ideas of cubism were in the air. Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d'Avignon could be seen as the starting point of cubism even though it was not showcased until 1910. It is said that Cubism’s roots can be connected to primitivism and other non-western sources. Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is a great example of this as it incorporates the use African Tribal Masks. Photographs from non-western countries and the ancient world were just surfacing in the early 20th century, these would prove to be a major influence in the art world.
The main binding element of cubism is the deconstruction of traditional form. Most works feature everyday objects or people that have been dissected into fragments and reassembled with the artist’s touch and vision. This may include different perspectives all within the same work. It truly was like seeing things in a whole new light. Landscapes within Cubism were rare; instead artists seem to favor themes using objects such as musical instruments, newspapers, bottles, pitchers and playing cards. Within cubism, many sub-genre’s began to form eventually producing masters in their own right. Some of the Cubist’s we will be showcasing today include Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Juan Gris plus more. The Bohemian Grove invites you to scroll through our online exhibition and by doing so you will be scrolling through time. Cubism without a doubt was one of the most influential periods in 20th century art ultimately influencing today’s modern world. We invite you to see for yourself.

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907, Oil on canvas, 8'x7'8", The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is considered as one of the twentieth century’s most innovative paintings. Picasso became a pioneer of the Cubist movement with this painting, segueing in a brand new form of expressionist art. Here, Picasso takes on the avant-garde theme of prostitutes and presents the women of a Spanish bordello in a much more aggressive manner than anyone before him. The women are no longer soft and voluptuous, but rather angular and confrontational.

Brick Factory at Tortosa

Pablo Picasso, 1909, Brick Factory at Tortosa (Briqueterie à Tortosa, L'Usine, Factory at Horta de Ebro), oil on canvas. 50.7 x 60.2 cm, The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

Picasso created this in 1909 while on holiday in Spain. The Guardian said “It has been described as ‘an experiment in how brutally you can reduce, simplify, solidify and abstract forms and still produce a picture that is not simply recognizable, but profoundly full of life”

Violin and Candlestick

Georges Braque, 1910, Violin and Candlestick, oil on canvas, 60.9 x 50.1 cm, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

French artist Georges Braque was a major contributor to early 20th century painting. Here, he demonstrates a compacted still life that has been fractured and distorted into an energetic work of analytic cubism. Braque chose to paint the objects from multiple perspectives do display shallow space and used neutral earth tones throughout.

Nudes in the Forest

Fernand Légar, Nudes in the Forest, 1910, oil on canvas, Kröller-Müller Museum

Originally a trained architect, Fernand Léger began this major canvas after being inspired by Cubists, Picasso and Braque. Although different, his distinct tubular style catches the eye but the confusion of objects draws it in different places. The subdued palate, including greens, grays, and blues, gives an illusion that the objects were more important than the color while also bringing the machine-like structures to life

Figure dans un Fauteuil

Pablo Picasso, 1909-10, Figure dans un Fauteuil (Seated Nude, Femme nue assise), oil on canvas, 92.1 x 73 cm, Tate Modern, London

Picasso displays a female figure nearly stripped completely of her human form. Instead represented as angular and mechanistic, she retains her pose with a geometric play of light. Critics of the time saw this early cubism as an attempt to show a new world reality in a scientific way. The piece was painted in the Spring of 1910 and originally sold in the Uhde sale in 1921.

Sad Young Man on a Train

Marcel Duchamp Nude, Sad Young Man on a Train, 1911-12, Oil on cardboard mounted on Masonite, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Collection, Venice.

Marcel Duchamp started this oil on cardboard in a west suburb in Paris around 1911. In this subdued palate, Duchamp started his beginnings in Cubism. He stated that he was influenced by Italian Futurists work with chronophotography. Movement was an important aspect of this work and also later influenced his famous “Nude Descending a Staircase”. The wood-like colors and abstract forms play with movement from the train while a face takes form in the middle of the canvas.

Portrait of Pablo Picasso

Juan Gris, Spanish, 1887–1927 Portrait of Pablo Picasso, January–February 1912, Oil on canvas. 36 ¾ x 29 5/16 in. (93.3 x 74.4 cm) Signed and inscribed, l.r.: “Hommage á Pablo Picasso/Juan Gris” Gift of Leigh B. Block, 1958.525

In 1906 Gris traveled to Paris with Picasso and Braque and participated in the development of Cubism. Fast-forward 6 years and Gris is a well known cubism artist. He was also known to some as “Picasso’s disciple.” Gris’s style draws upon Analytic Cubism—with its deconstruction and simultaneous viewpoint of objects—but is distinguished by a more systematic geometry and crystalline structure.

Guitar and Pipe

Guitar and Pipe; Juan Gris; 1913; painting - oil on canvas; 65 x 50 cm; Private Collection; synthetic Cubism

Gris displays the forms of a guitar and pipe here through the building of his strip architecture that was typical of his works around the time this work was created. The charcoal drawings and structure of this piece show Gris’ calculated planning as he worked. The aspects of each part of the piece and each view leave a sense of familiarity and certainty.

Breakfast

Juan Gris, Breakfast, 1914, Gauche, oil, and crayon on cut and pasted printed paper on canvas with oil and crayon, 31 7/8"x23 ½", The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Gris’ breakfast piece employs a method created by Picasso and Braque know as papier collé. Gris creates a much more representational collage than those of his contemporaries, but still manages to create a broken and abstract composition.

Ecuyère (Rider)

Ecuyère (Rider); Albert Gleizes; 1920; oil on canvas, 130 x 93 cm, Musée Nationale d’Art Moderne, Paris ; post cubism

Gleize, thought of as faithful to cubism until the end, delivers this piece that is reminiscent of a joyous old man. It incorporates ideas of eliminating aspects of cubism that he viewed as superficial and the ‘new mechanism’ as outlined in his book: La Peinture et ses lois (Painting and its laws). While not a major improvement from his previous works, it incorporated ideas that showed a major step forward in his own ideas.

Cubism Sources

“About This Artwork.” Portrait of Pablo Picasso. N.p., 2013. Web. 10 Sept. 2015

This source is from the Art Institute of Chicago. It gives a brief description of the piece of art and also gives a little history about the cubism movement and the artists responsible for it.

“Albert Gleizes.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 18 Aug. 2015. Web. 9 Sept. 2015.

The Wikipedia page begins with a summary of Albert Gleizes including what he was and notable achievements/influences of his. It goes on to describe his early life, life as a Cubist artist, and theory behind his art, including what Cubism represented for him which was a , “normal evolution of an art that was mobile like life itself.” The page also includes images of some of his artwork and accompanying information.

Arnason, H., and Elizabeth Mansfield. “Cubism.” History of Modern Art. 7th ed. Pearson, 2013. 163. Print.

In this book written by H.H. Arnason and Elizabeth Mansfield located in chapter 7 titled Cubism, the authors explore how Léger was interested in mechanical elements clearly shown in his work, Nudes in the Forest. They later go through his history of Legér’s birth in Normandy while later settling in Paris around 1900. They shed light on how he was interested in cylinders and cones because of Cézanne’s influence but also notes how moved he was by Gleizes and Metzinger’s works. Arnason and Mansfield lastly address the movement of the painting, as it seems fast paced.

Brooke, Peter. Albert Gleizes: For and Against the Twentieth Century. New Haven and London, Yale University Press. 2001. Google Books. Web. 9 Sept. 2015

Brooke, in this book, opens with a picture and quote from Albert Gleizes that basically says that Cubism will not end unless it ceases to be capable of transmission and ceases to allow artists the freedom to express themselves. Brooke then gives an introduction which gave a summary of Albert Gleizes as well as a statement of what he wanted to accomplish with this book. The book itself details Albert Gleizes life with analyses of Gleizes’ work as he goes through each point of his life, and provides images of his works with accompanying information including: title, date of creation, medium, dimensions, and location.

“Fernand Léger Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story. The Art Story Foundation, 2015. Web. 9 Sept. 2015.

The author of this post, located on the Art Story website, began the article by explaining that this was one of his first major works as it was shown in the Salon des Indépendants in 1911. The author then explains Légers choice in palette and focus on form which was influenced by Cézanne. The author also explains how his cubist art differs from other Cubists from this time as it includes tubes and cylinders. Lastly, he then explores the idea that his use of future elements makes him similar to Italian Futurists.

Flint, Lucy.

“Guggenheim.” Collection Online. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 2015. Web. 7 Sept. 2015.

In this piece written by Lucy Flint she explores the meaning and makings of this painting by Marcel Duchamp called, Nude, Sad Young Man on a Train. She starts with the beginnings of this painting and mentions Duchamp’s new interest with Cubism. Flint then addresses the movement of the painting and how there are two different kinds. She also decides to mention his interest with Italian Futurists and his cubist choose in color palette. Lastly she explains how Duchamp eventually broke away from cubism, as it was apparently short lived and instead continued working on new strange concepts.

Green, Christopher, et al. Juan Gris. Germany: Dr. Cantz'sche Druckerei, Ostfildern-Ruit bei Stuttgart, 1992. Google Books. Web. 9 Sept. 2015.

This book is a biography of Juan Gris that details and analyzes his life as an artist. The book starts with an anecdote about an essay on Juan Gris, written by Christian Zervos, whose theme was the inevitability of death. It followed with Gris’ relevance to other Cubist artists, as well as his relevance and importance to Cubism itself. The authors, later, also go into depth in their analyses of the processes and ideas that go into Gris’ works.

Harding, Lesley. “Diploma Lecture Series 2011 Art and Australia ll: European Preludes and Parallels Cubism and Australian art from 1940.” 8-9 June 2011. Web/PDF file. 9 Sept. 2015

In this PDF file, Harding provides an overview of the lecture that will be presented (and seems to be missing) which concerns the impact of Cubism on Australian art from 1940 to present day. Next Harding provides a list of slides to be presented, with each including a cubist art piece with accompanying information which includes: Creator’s name, title, date created, medium, and location. Afterwards it lists the bibliography and includes six pages of works that have the same information as included in the slide list.

“Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.” Cubism. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2015. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm>.

The Metropolitan Museum (located in NYC) houses many works from the Cubist movement. The museum possesses an in-depth and extensive knowledge of art history and the origins of different movements throughout. Heilbrunn’s Timeline in particular is extremely thorough, as it comprised of “300 timelines, 930 essays, close to 7,000 objects, and a robust index” that illustrates the history of art itself.

“Picasso’s - Brick Factory At Tortosa - 1909.” Picasso’s – Brick Factory At Tortosa – 1909. N.p., 07 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Sept. 2015.

This source is from a Fine Arts student at Cardiff Metropolitan University currently specialising in installation work. On this Wordpress website she posts her course work and about other things currently trending in the art world, like Banksy’s ‘Dismaland’

rocsdad.

“Guitar and Pipe.” The-Athenaeum. Athenaeum, 21 Oct. 2014. Web. 9 Sept. 2015.

This website provided information pertaining to the Guitar and Pipe artwork created by Juan Gris. This included: its owner/location, date of creation, dimensions, medium, etc.