2023-02-01
Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso are considered precursors of Cubism. It was they (along with other artists) who at the beginning of the 20th century conducted experiments related to radical simplification of form, geometrization and limiting the colour palette.
The name of Cubism derives from the word "le cubus", translated as "cube" or "cube". In a nutshell, Cubists wanted the viewer to be able to see every surface (e.g. of the painted cube) on the surface of the painting. As a result, the painted/sculpted solid was fragmented; the artists radically broke with the mimetic representation of reality. Moreover, the monochromatic colour palette did not distract the viewer from the overlapping planes. The Cubists preferred simple subjects in their works: still life, landscape or portrait. They were fond of depicting musical instruments, bottles, jugs and newspapers.
The most famous Cubist works certainly include several paintings by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). The "Maids of Avignon", "Girl with Mandolin" or "Portrait of Gertrude Stein" are classics of the genre. The "Virgins..." The "Virgins" aroused huge controversy due to their radical geometrization (the faces of the eponymous maidens resemble African masks) and because of their subject matter - Picasso depicted five ladies of light morals in his composition. It is worth mentioning that at that time the artist was fascinated with primitive art, including the art of the black land.
The list of memorable works should also include works by Juan Gris (1887-1927). This Spanish painter created still lifes composed of simple everyday objects, for example: "guitar on a table" or "still life with fruit and mandolin". Gris also created the famous portrait of Pablo Picasso.
In "The Portuguese" from 1911 by Georges Braque, on the other hand, the viewer can hardly make out any concrete objects. The canvas shows rather broken glass at first glance, the art is almost abstract.