Cubism is one of the many modernist movements that emerged in the visual arts of the first half of the 20th century. Its main feature was the use of geometric shapes, the desire to decompose complex shapes into simple ones.
Instructions
Step 1
The emergence of cubism was facilitated by 2 exhibitions of works by Paul Cézanne, held in 1904 and 1906. Cezanne's words “treat nature by means of a cylinder, a sphere, a cone …” have become a kind of epigraph to all creative experiments of the new direction.
Step 2
In 1907, Pablo Picasso presented his friends an unfinished painting "The Maidens of Avignon". It is considered a turning point in the history of 20th century art. Working on the painting, Picasso deliberately rejected the laws of perspective and chiaroscuro. The entire surface of the painting - both the background and the bodies of 5 naked women - was divided into geometric segments. The "girls" depicted on it looked like crudely hewn ancient idols.
Step 3
It seemed to Henri Matisse that Picasso's work was a caricature of modern trends in painting. Young artist Georges Braque declared indignantly: "You paint pictures as if you want to make us eat tow or drink kerosene." But not too much time passed, and Braque showed landscapes at his personal exhibition in 1908, in the creation of which the same method was used. The word "cubism" first appeared in a review of this exhibition by renowned art critic Louis Voxel.
Step 4
In its further development, Cubism went through several stages. The first was named "Cezanne" after the Cubist idol Paul Cézanne. Its distinctive feature is the use of gray, ocher, brown and greenish colors. A large, solid object seemed to disintegrate into many small ones. Such is, for example, "Girl with a Fan" by Pablo Picasso.
Step 5
Then came analytical cubism, in which the image seemed to be split into pieces. The image appeared to be composed of shards of broken glass. Such are the numerous still lifes by Georges Braque and "Portrait of Ambroise Vollard" by Pablo Picasso, who Vollard himself considered the best of his images, of which there were many.
Step 6
Synthetic Cubism became the final in the development of the current. In it, the image no longer decomposed, but was assembled, synthesized from individual parts. At the same time, the texture of the material of which the depicted objects consisted was very carefully depicted. Such, for example, is the painting by Pablo Picasso "Violin and Guitar". In addition, oval-shaped cubist compositions began to appear, which began to be called rocaille cubism. For example, "Musical Instruments" by Picasso.