CubismCubism

• The world in the early 1900s was changing dramatically.

• There were many technological advancements and a lot of scientific discoveries.

• These innovations drastically changed technology.

• People thought about the world differently.

• In 1903, the Wright Brothers tested their invention for the first time in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina: the airplane.

• Because of the airplane, people could travel farther distances in a much shorter amount of time.

The Airplane

Electricity

• Electricity was first used in homes and other buildings in Greenwich Village, New York City, during the 1890s, and by the 1930s, every urban building had electricity.

• The standard of living for people significantly increased.

The Radio

• In 1895, Guglielmo Marconi proved that people could communicate from far distances using radio waves; he invented the radio.

• News and entertainment was readily available at the turn of a dial using the radio.

Nuclear Physics

• A physicist named Ernest Rutherford developed nuclear physics.

• He developed the concept of radioactive half-life and is credited as the first to “split an atom.”

• He discoveries led to some world-changing theories...

The Special Theory of Relativity

• Albert Einstein came up with the theory in 1905, which stated that there is no absolute position, but rather we must compare two objects.

• His theory showed that space and time were interconnected, and that time is not linear.

Quantum Mechanics

• A physicist named Niels Bohr proposed that all energy is broken down into “quanta”.

• A “quantum” is the smallest amount of matter used in an interaction.

So what does this all have to do with Cubism?

• A lot of things!

• Cubism was created as a reaction to the quickly changing society.

• Cubism was designed as a portrayal of the space-time continuum and the 4th Dimension.

• That’s why there’s so many different perspectives in Cubism art!

The Fourth Dimension

• At the time of Cubism, time was considered the Fourth Dimension.

• We can move through the fourth dimension (time), but only forward.

• We have a video at the end that kind of explains this if there’s time...

Fauvism

• Fauvism influenced Cubism as art did not have to be realistic.

• Colors were used expressively, and it was more stylistic.

“Self-Portrait in the Studio” Derain 1903

Paul Cézanne and Post-Impressionism

• Influenced Cubism

• Cézanne believed that art could be more stylistic and less realistic.

• Things were a little disproportionate in his artwork and colors weren’t exactly realistic.

“Mont Saint-Victoire” Cézanne 1895

African Tribal Art

• Influenced Cubism

• African tribal art influenced Cubism with its style.

• Faces were angular and disproportionate.

• The color brown was used a lot.

Faceting

• Multiple perspectives on one surface

• Different ways of seeing the subject matter.

• Using light and dark tones to capture the effect.

Characteristics• Figures and objects simplified by using

geometric shapes.

• Approximation of the fourth dimension.

• Paintings are conceptual, rather than perceptual.

• Distortion and deformation of known figures and forms in the natural world.

• The overlapping of geometric planes.

• Different points of view made visible on one plane.

Georges Braque

• Worked closely with Picasso, their work was very similar and sometimes hard to tell apart.

• Was inspired by Cezanne.

• “Once an object has been incorporated in a picture it accepts a new destiny.” -Georges Braque

Georges Braque

“Houses at L’Estaque”

Braque 1908

“Viaduct at L’Estaque”

Braque 1908

Analytical Braque

• Breaking down of forms

• Monochromatic

• Focus on multiple views

“Violin with Palette”Braque 1909

“Candlestick and Playing Cards on a Table” Braque 1910

Synthetic Braque

• papier collé

• Text included

• trompe-l'oeil wood-grain technique

“Woman with a Guitar” Braque 1913

“Still Life with Tenora” Braque 1913

Fernand Léger• Focus on color and

shape rather than planes and forms.

• Fascination with mechanical objects, technology, and people in motion.

• “Man needs color to live; it's just as necessary an element as fire and water.” -Fernand Léger

“Soldiers Playing Cards” Léger 1917

“The Mechanic” Léger 1920

“Three Women” Léger 1921

Pablo Picasso

• Worked with Braque.

• Picasso went through many artistic phases throughout his career; one of them was, of course, Cubism.

• “I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.” -Pablo Picasso

“The Old Guitarist” Picasso 1903

“Garçon à la Pipe” Picasso 1905

“Three Musicians” Picasso 1921

“Les DemoiSelles D’Avignon” Picasso 1907

“Girl with Mandolin” Picasso 1910

“Portrait of Ambrose Vollard” Picasso 1910

“The Accordionist” Picasso 1911

“Three Women at the Spring” Picasso 1921

“Guernica” Picasso 1937

“Interior with a Girl Drawing” Picasso 1935

“Two Women by the Sea” -1922

Juan Gris

• Painted mostly still-lives in a synthetic cubist style, using bold colors and collage techniques, which blended with Art Deco.

• Consistently dedicated to the style.

• “I prefer the emotion that corrects the rule” -Juan Gris

“Still Life with Open Window, Rue Ravignan” Gris 1915

“Still Life with Pears and Grapes on a Table” Gris 1913

Reactions to Cubism

• Cubism was not widely known at the time, but its reactions were, surprisingly, mostly positive.

• “It is the man who challenges and denies who stirs other men to think for themselves.That is the chief value of the Cubist painting – they compel us to think for ourselves, to take careful inventory of our stock of stereotyped notions...” -Jerome Eddy, Art Critic

Effects of Cubism on Art

• Cubism was the first form of abstract art.

• It showed that artists don’t just have to paint realistically, and art can be the expression of ideas and concepts.

• Today, we see many other forms of abstract art, which were all basically influenced by the ideas behind Cubism.

Understanding the Fourth Dimension Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOuXtONDAN0