Cubism
A style of painting originated by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Instead of painting a figure or object from a fixed position they represented it from multiple viewpoints.
Biography
Born
1882
Died
1963
Nationality
French
Birth place
Argenteuil
Death place
Paris
Braque was brought up in Le Havre where he trained as a painter and decorator. He moved to Paris in 1900, later becoming associated with the Fauves. Influenced by Cézanne, from 1907 he abandoned loose brushwork for a more structured, geometric style. Picasso's work developed in a similar way and the two friends' work is often difficult to tell apart during the years 1910-12. Reviewing an exhibition of Braque's work in 1908 one critic wrote that he reduced everything to cubes and the derogatory term 'Cubism' soon came into being.
Glossary terms