Cubism- Early Modernism

Cubism 1907-1922

Cubism was an Avant-Garde movement

Pablo Picasso was the father of Cubism. Many other artists were involved in Cubism but Picasso took care of it and continued with it and later known as the father of Cubism.

Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque worked for hand in hand, with Cubism and their works were almost similar.

This movement was a French Art Movement that broke the Renaissance tradition of art making. The movement used non-objective(abstract) forms of painting, basically, painters did not paint the real thing that they saw. For the artists to paint in a non-objective way they used the reduction and fragmentation of natural forms into abstract, often using geometric structures, diagonal and straight lines.

Abstraction was used profoundly in Cubism

What is Abstraction? 

An impractical idea, something visionary and unrealistic. -Dictionary.com

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/abstraction

What is an abstraction in ordinary terms or yet better terms?

Abstraction is when the form is not recognisable. It represents an unrealistic/unrecognisable form. 

Abstraction is divided into two titles: Realism and Naturalism.

Realism

Naturalism

·               Depicts what the eye can see.                              Describes true lifestyle.

·                Depicts the real form so we the                          Incorporates ideas as if they were real.

the viewer can see what it represents.

Abstraction is the opposite of both of the movements. 

Abstract art is art that has no reference to any figurative reality.

Therefore Cubism was the first art movement that portrayed abstract art. 

An example of abstraction:

Figure 1: Picasso, P, Skull of a goat, Bottle and a Candle, 1952, Oil on canvas.

http://www.leninimports.com/pablo_picasso_gallery_goat.html

Figure 2: Braque, G, Bears signature, 1882-1963, Oil on canvas.
https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2664M/lots/244

Both of these paintings above represent something however since its abstract it the subject matter will not be recognised. Cubism was influenced by an artist known as Paul Cezanne who was a post-impressionist who constructed an image rather than depicting it, he works created some sort of pattern because he painted in a radical way by breaking all elements of the object and putting them back together to form something new. Paul Cezanne used geometric forms to simplify nature which influenced Pablo Picasso.

The paintings above also have the characteristics of using geometric shapes, rectangular shapes, diagonal lines to create abstract forms.

Primitivism

A belief in the value of what is simple and sophisticated.

A culture that is superior to those of the contemporary civilization.-Dictionary.com

Cubism began to use primitivism later on in their artworks, for example, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907, Pablo Picasso. He used primitivism as a way of making the western art more interesting. 

Analytical and Synthetic cubism

Analytical (1907-1912)	Synthetic(1912-1914)
Artists analyzed the subject from many different viewpoints and reconstructed it within the geometric framework. Rejected single point perspective.	Characterized by the introduction of different textures, surfaces, collage, elements, paper college and a large variety of merged subject matter.
They broke the subject apart and painted all the angles similarly.(simultaneity).	Combinatory(putting together).
The fragmented images were unified by the use of a subdued and limited palette of colour.(Monochromatic colour scheme)	Building up an image from different elements(collage)
Brown and black colours used.	E.g.: Georges Braque, Fruit dish and glass, 1916.
Breaking up images in different facets.	Less colour, less shading.
Breaking up the image and putting it back together but still recognisable.	Close to abstract.

Analytical cubism

Figure 3: Metzinger, J, Tea Time, 1911
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/analytical-cubism.htm

Synthetic cubism

Figure 4: Picasso, P, Glass, Guitar and Newspaper, 1913.

http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/s/synthetic-cubism

Latest cubism

Figure 5: Kurasov, G, The Mistress, 2000, Oil on canvas.

http://kurasov.com/index.php?picture&sold=1&galid=2000&picid=139&from=3

The above image was influenced by the art movement Cubism and everything that falls under it.

The Mistress is a very good example of contemporary cubism because it has the characteristics of synthetic and analytical cubism, the use of diagonal and straight lines, rectangular shapes, the use of dull colours and dull shading.  

The woman in the image looks a bit abstract, it looks like she was put together using geometric shapes, and she doesn't look real, almost abstract. There is no perspective in the image which this relates to synthetic cubism, linear and diagonal lines are mostly used to give a feeling of perspective even if it can't be seen as real perspective. It is a flat painting however because of line, form, shapes, texture and colour it is seen as real enough to convince the viewer that it is real. 

As said at the beginning of the blog cubism had a non-objective form in paintings. It is a naturalistic painting because it is a depiction of a woman, it doesn't have to be a real woman to tell the viewer that it is a real woman. The geometric structure is rendered as a set of planes.

If it wasn't for cubism there would have not been Graphic Designers today, Cubism opened a lot of windows for designers and creativity of producing something out of the boundary as realism.

Sites for images:

Figure 1: http://www.leninimports.com/pablo_picasso_gallery_goat.html

Figure 2: https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2664M/lots/244

Figure 3: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/analytical-cubism.htm

Figure 4: http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/s/synthetic-cubism

Figure 5: http://kurasov.com/index.php?picture&sold=1&galid=2000&picid=139&from=3