Picasso and Braque

Synthetic Cubism1912 – 1920s

To synthesize means to integrate two or more pre-existing elements which results in a new creation.

Purpose: To Depict a Vision of Modern Urban Life

• by bringing together familiar scraps and unfamiliar forms in order to give shape to a particular sense of urban life on the eve of WWI

• by exploring the individual experiences associated with public spaces and urban recreation

• by using the language of publicity and commerce in an ambiguous manner to suggest a multiplicity of contradictory meanings, especially through puns

• by capturing the new sense of simultaneity of diverse experiences-the fusion of objects, people, machines, noises, light, smells, etc.

Pablo Picasso before TheAficionado (summer-autumn1912).

Pablo Picasso. Man with a Violin (spring 1912). Oil on canvas.

Paris street, 1906.

Place Saint-André-des-Arts,Paris (1903-04).

The photographer Eugène Atgetcaptures the excitement and apparent randomness of the information environment of themodern city.

Eugène Atget. Paris Street (1925).

Posted wall, Dijon, 1901

Morris columns, Paris (1910).

Newstand, Paris, before 1914

Pablo Picasso. Violin,Wineglasses, Pipe, and Anchor (May 1912). Oil on canvas.

Representation of Representation

Pablo Picasso. Still Life with Chair Caning (May 1912). Collage of oil, oilcloth, and pasted paper on canvas.

Collage

Noun from the French verb coller: to glue

Characteristics

• A new relationship is enacted between “low” culture (mass culture) and “high” culture (professional art).

• This relationship is felt to be inappropriate, jarring, or wrong—yet interestingly so.

• The end result is irreverence, paradox, and perplexity.

Pablo Picasso. Still Life with Chair Caning (May 1912). Collage of oil, oilcloth, and pasted paper on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. The Scallop Shell “Notre Avenir est dans l’air” (May 1912). Oil on canvas.

Cover of Nôtre Avenir est dans l’air, a brochure imploringFrance to improve its aviation. Braque and Picasso wereusing the slogan ironically, as to imply that France’s future was “in the air”.

Georges Braque. The Clarinet(spring-late summer 1912). Oil on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. The Poet (summer 1912). Oil on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. The Poet (August 1911). Oil on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. The Aficionado(summer 1912). Oil on canvas.

This fan sits in front of a Spanish guitar and clutches abanderilla. His refined tastesare presented through his stiffcollar, top hat, and the newspaperLe Torero, as well as by the bottle of manzanilla sherry to hisleft.

Pablo Picasso. Maquettefor Guitar (October 1912).Construction of cardboard,string, and wire (restored).

Pablo Picasso. Guitar and Sheet Music (October-November 1912). Pasted paper, pastel, and charcoal.

Pablo Picasso. Guitar, SheetMusic, and Glass (afterNovember 18, 1912). Pastedpaper, gouache, and charcoal.

Le Journal, November 18, 1912, p. 1

Pablo Picasso. Guitar, SheetMusic, and Glass (afterNovember 18, 1912). Pastedpaper, gouache, and charcoal.

This collage evokes a café, with its cheap wallpaper and humble guitar, where people would go to listen to music, read newspapers, and discuss the news of the day.

Pablo Picasso. Glass andBottle of Suze (afterNovember 18, 1912).Pasted paper, gouache, and charcoal.

The subject evoked in the collageis the debating of political issueswith friends in a public place.

Pablo Picasso. Guitars(spring 1913). Ink.

Pablo Picasso. Guitar(December 3, 1912).Paper construction.

Pablo Picasso. Guitar (winter1912-13). Construction of sheetmetal, string, and wire.

Pablo Picasso. Bowl withFruit, Violin, and Wineglass(after December 2, 1912; completed after January 21,1913). Pasted paper, water-color, chalk, oil, and charcoalon cardboard.

Pablo Picasso. Gas Jet andGuitar (winter 1912-13).Gouache and charcoal.

Georges Braque. Pedestal Table (early 1913). Oil and charcoal on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. “Au Bon Marché” (January 25-26, 1913). Oil andpasted paper on cardboard.

This is a parody of the female’s dual role as a consumer and as “goods for sale”. A pasted lid from the lingerie department of the store Au Bon Marché combines with decorative wallpaper, glass on the right, a decanter on the left, and an ad from the department store Samaritaine. Picasso cuts the ad to focus on a modern woman, with her modern hair cut and her gesture of vanity. A number of elements cut off from their context in the newspaper are combined to suggest her availability: the price “2.85” and the words above “Method of Payment”, “Massage” and “Trou Ici”— meaning “hole here”.

Construction mountedin Picasso’s Studio at 5 bis,rue Scheolcher, early 1913,including cardboardmaquette for Guitar. Photographed by the artist. Construction no longer extant.

Pablo Picasso. Man with a Guitar(spring 1913). Ripolin (shiny enamel house paint) on canvas.

Georges Braque. Violin andGlass (spring 1913). Oil, charcoal, and pencil on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. Guitar (after March 31, 1913). Pasted paper, charcoal,ink, and chalk.

Pablo Picasso. Bar Table with Guitar (spring 1913). Chalk,and pasted and pinned paper.

Pablo Picasso. Head of a Man With a Moustache (after May 6, 1913). Charcoal and ink on newspaper.

Pablo Picasso. Head (May-June 1913). Pasted paper,charcoal, and pencil on cardboard.

Pablo Picasso. Bottle of Vieux Marc, Glass, Guitar,and Newspaper (spring 1913). Pasted paper and ink.

Georges Braque. Clarinet (summer 1913). Pastedpaper, oil, charcoal, chalk, and pencil on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. Mandolinand Clarinet (autumn 1913).Construction of paintedwood with pencil marks.

Georges Braque. Woman witha Guitar (autumn 1913). Oiland charcoal on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. Card Player (winter 1913-14). Ripolin paint on canvas.

Georges Braque. Violin and Pipe “Le Quotidien” (after December 20, 1913). Chalk, charcoal, and pasted paper.

Georges Braque. Glass and Bottle (winter1913-14). Charcoal and pasted paper.

Georges Braque. Bottle of Eau-de-Vie (early1914). Oil on canvas.

Georges Braque. Glass, Bottle,and Newspaper (after January15, 1914). Pasted paper.

Pablo Picasso. Still Life (early 1914). Constructionof painted wood with upholstery fringe.

Pablo Picasso. Glass and Dice(early 1914). Construction of painted wood.

Pablo Picasso. Glass, Newspaper, and Dice(spring 1914). Construction of paintedwood and tin.

Pablo Picasso. Glass, Dice and Newspaper(spring 1914). Construction of painted wood and tin.

Pablo Picasso. Glass(spring 1914). Construction ofpainted tin.

Pablo Picasso. Bottle ofBass, Glass, and Newspaper(spring 1914). Constructionof painted tin.

Pablo Picasso. Glass of Absinth (spring 1914).Painted bronze withsand and perforated absinth spoon.

Pablo Picasso. Smoker(spring 1914). Oil and pastedpaper on canvas.

Georges Braque. Man witha Guitar (spring 1914). Oiland sand on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. Man with a Mask,Playing a Guitar (summer 1914).Pencil.

Pablo Picasso. Bearded Man Playing a Guitar (summer 1914).Pencil and gouache.

Pablo Picasso. Still Life with Cards, Glasses,and a Bottle of Rum “Vive la France” (summer1914). Ripolin paint and sand on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. Green Still Life (summer 1914). Ripolin paint on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. Portrait of a Girl (summer 1914). Ripolin paint on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. Man with a Pipe (1915). Ripolin painton canvas.

Pablo Picasso. Harlequin (fall-winter 1915). Ripolin paint on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. Three Musicians (1921). Oil on canvas.

Pablo Picasso. Three Musicians (1921). Oil on canvas.