Art history: Understanding cubism

Cubism was one of the most significant art movements of the twentieth century. It was the first truly “abstract” art style. Cubists rejected the traditional philosophy that art should copy nature. Instead of depicting subjects from one viewpoint or angle, Cubists, such as founders Pablo Picasso (October 25, 1881 April 8, 1973) and George Braque (May 13, 1882 August 31, 1963), chose to paint their subjects from multiple viewpoints at once, thus increasing the complexity of the painting. They reduced their subjects to basic geometric forms. Cezanne, though not a Cubist himself, was the fist to comment that “Everything in nature takes its form from the sphere, the cone and the cylinder.” This idea formed the foundation for the Cubist movement.

French art critic Louis Vauxcelles first coined the term “cubism” after seeing a painting by Braque. He described the piece as being full of little cubes. After this, the term quickly caught on and quite accurately illustrated the Cubists desire to cut down nature to simple geometric shapes. The Cubists discarded the need for conventional artistic notions such as foreshortening, chiaroscuro, perspective, and modeling. Instead, they chose to focus on the two-dimensionality of the canvas. They forwent the need to portray depth altogether. In addition, they wanted to show a subject from several viewpoints at once. This was a very innovative technique that differed so greatly from traditional art, that it led Cubism to become the first truly modern art movement.

Cubism can be split into two different eras, if you will. The first, ranging from 1907 to 1912 approximately, aimed to depict subjects as the mind’s eye sees them, not the eyes themselves. Subjects were analyzed, then fractured and reassembled. During this time their paintings were usually monochromatic. This phase was referred to as “Analytic Cubism”. The second era, “Synthetic Cubism” which ran from 1912 to about 1919, introduced mixed media to painting. In this phase of Cubism, paper and other materials were incorporated into the paintings. All sense of three-dimensionality was lost and the space becomes completely flattened. Also during this era, color was reintroduced to the canvas.

It is important to understand that Cubism was not limited to painting. Artists such Raymond Duchamp-Villon (November 5, 1876 – October 9, 1918) incorporated Cubism into his sculptures. It too influenced writers such as Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 July 27, 1946). The composer Edgard Varse (December 22, 1883 November 6, 1965) is said to have been inspired by Cubist writing and art. Cubisms “fractured” planes clearly played a role in the development of the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 April 9, 1959).

In summary, Cubism was an extremely radical art movement that, though short-lived, changed the face of art and allowed for a new way of thinking across many disciplines. Whether or not one is a fan of Cubist art itself, there can be no denying its significance in allowing for true creativity and opening up the door to a whole new way of seeing the world.