The Cubism art movement, which began in 1904 and lasted for approximately 15 years until about 1919, had two notable artists, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Analytic Cubism, the first phase of Cubism, emerged in France from 1907 to 1911, while its second phase, Synthetic Cubism, spread and remained significant until around 1919. Cubism portrayed nature using flowing lines and a repetitive structure. Instead of representing objects realistically, Cubists aimed to emotionally manipulate the subject matter by altering elements for artistic beauty and taste rather than adhering to reality.
Cubism shattered the conventional nature of contemporary art by presenting something incredibly unique. The resulting freedom allowed for the exploration of new and expressive movements that were treated with seriousness. Analytic Cubism involved dissecting natural forms and simplifying them into basic geometric shapes on a two-dimensional canvas. These paintings exclusively employed the colors and tones of black, grey, blue, brown, and ochre, creating a monochromatic color scheme.
Analytic cubists emphasized forms such as the cylinder, sphere, and cone to depict the natural world, drawing inspiration from Paul Cezanne. Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque both transitioned towards abstraction, incorporating minimal elements of reality to create a juxtaposition between the external world and the intricate exploration of visual language within their artworks. Synthetic Cubism, developed by Picasso, Braque, Juan Gris, and several others from 1912 to 1919, formed the second major movement in Cubism.
Synthetic cubism is identified by the incorporation of various textures, surfaces, collage elements, and papier colle (a collage technique). It also encompasses a diverse range of subject matter. This movement marked the emergence of collage materials as a significant component in fine art. Works often included newspaper clippings, physical pieces of newspaper, sheet music, and similar items. Picasso and Braque engaged in a friendly competition, and including letters in their artworks may have been an extension of their playful rivalry.
Analytic Cubism focused on the analysis of subjects, while Synthetic Cubism involved the combination of multiple objects. Synthetic Cubism achieved a flatter space by using less shading. In 1906, the death of Paul Cezanne was followed by a significant museum exhibition displaying his work. This exhibition had a profound impact on young artists in Paris, inspiring them, including Picasso, to observe and perceive nature through geometric shapes like cubes, spheres, cylinders, and cones as advocated by Cezanne. Consequently, this paved the way for the emergence of the cubist movement.
The First World War was a significant event during this period. Despite undergoing various transformations, much of cubism’s original essence remains in many art forms it has inspired. As photography became increasingly popular and accessible for capturing images, artists sought alternative methods, leading to the emergence of cubism. Today, it continues to be used as a unique way to express or commemorate something apart from photography. Furthermore, cubism’s influence has expanded beyond paintings and now extends to sculptures, buildings, and monuments.
Artists have embraced a more physical approach as they explore alternative applications of cubism. Personally, I appreciate the distinctiveness of cubist art, which stands in contrast to realistic landscape paintings where every detail is faithfully reproduced. Cubism allows for a multidimensional viewing experience, as though observing an object from various angles simultaneously. It is amusing to decipher the artist’s depiction within their paintings. What fascinates me is how an everyday object can be utterly transformed into something entirely new through the clever use of lines, shapes, and colors, while retaining its fundamental structure.
Still Life with a Bottle of Rum, 1911, Pablo Picasso, Oil on Canvas. This artwork depicts rum bottles in a still life composition. The painting showcases various perspectives with elements such as letters, eyes, bottles, and hooks or railings. While some lines have curves and double lines for emphasis, the majority of the artwork consists of straight lines forming shapes like rectangles, squares, and cones. The painting exhibits extensive shading through techniques such as blended lines, rough strokes, striped lines, and dots.
The colors employed by Picasso are solely brown, white, and black. The combination of these hues and the letters create a typical autumn atmosphere in Paris, evoking a sense of dreariness, lethargy, and a decelerated pace, akin to the end of a day. The central area attracts the most attention as various shapes are layered upon each other, prompting observers to discover additional forms and decipher the underlying meaning depicted by Picasso.
Picasso’s painting is made with oil pastels in plain shades like brown, black, and white. By blending these colors, he achieves a smooth texture that produces a visual flow. Your eyes are guided along a circular path as you move from one point to another. While I admire this artwork, it also confuses me somewhat, giving the impression of randomly arranged shapes. However, upon closer examination, you can identify additional shapes and objects within the composition. Nonetheless, the painting feels too busy for any specific object to truly capture your attention.
The painting depicts a table next to a window, adorned with various objects commonly found in a typical household. The scene consists of the window, table, vase with flowers, playing cards, box of matches, carpets, journal, and other apartment essentials. In the backdrop, there is another apartment and a dark sky. The majority of the lines in the painting are sharp, occasionally interrupted by curved lines. The use of color in this artwork is vibrant and dynamic.
The painting utilizes vibrant colors to create a distinction between objects, bringing clarity to their depiction. The use of vivid colors also breaks up the painting. The artist explores different perspectives within the background and middle ground, sometimes presenting a bird’s eye view while other times depicting a front or side view. I particularly appreciate the texture applied to the vase, which includes visible cracks or lines resembling newspaper, suggesting neglect and lack of proper care for the old vase.
I am fascinated by the painting, particularly because of the vase. The juxtaposition of colors and shapes, along with the shading, all contribute to its captivating transformation. Metzinger takes a normal vase and gives it multiple dimensions in his artwork. He uses oil pastels and paints as his medium. One interesting visual effect is achieved by using black shading on certain objects while leaving others without any shading. Some objects even seamlessly blend into the background.
I am incredibly impressed with the artwork’s vibrancy and striking contrast between colors. This combination allows each object to stand out distinctly, making interpretation effortless. Moreover, I admire the artwork’s distinct dimensionality. It appears as though every element has been fragmented and reassembled, creating a unique interconnectedness. In conclusion, this piece of art is truly captivating.
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Here are some websites related to Cubism:
http://members.multimania.co.uk/cubist_movement/ ,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubism#Cubism_today , and
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/59.86 .
