An introduction for a second grade cubist still-life painting lesson.

1. Cubism
Cubism was a truly revolutionary style of modern art developed by Pablo
Picasso and Georges Braque.
It was the first style of abstract art which evolved at the beginning of the 20th
century in response to a world that was changing with unprecedented speed.
Cubism was an attempt by artists to revitalize the tired traditions of Western art
which they believed had run their course.
The Cubists challenged conventional forms of representation, such as
perspective, which had been the rule since the Renaissance. Their aim was to
develop a new way of seeing which reflected the modern age.

2. CUBISM
•Fitting all angles of a three-
dimensional object in the
same two-dimensional picture

3. Analytic Cubism
Cubism had two distinct phases. The
early phase which lasted until about 1912
was called Analytical Cubism.
Here the artist analyzed the subject from
many different viewpoints and reconstructed
it within a geometric framework, the overall
effect of which was to create an image that
evoked a sense of the subject.
These fragmented images were unified by the
use of a subdued and limited palette of
colors.
Georges Braque (1882-1963)
Violin and Jug (oil on canvas, 1910)

4. Synthetic Cubism
Influenced by the introduction of bold
and simple collage shapes, Synthetic
Cubism moved away from the unified
monochrome surfaces of Analytic
Cubism to a more direct, colorful and
decorative style.
Although synthetic cubist images appear
more abstract in their use of simplified
forms, the other elements of their
composition are applied quite traditionally.
Interchanging lines, colors, patterns and
textures, that switch from geometric to
freehand, dark to light, positive to negative
and plain to patterned, advance and recede
in rhythms across the picture plane.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Still Life with Mandolin and Guitar (oil on canvas, 1924)

5. Fruit Dish Georges Braque, 1908

6. Head of a Woman
Georges Braque, 1909

7. Violin and
Newspaper
(Musical Forms)
Georges Braque, 1912

8. Still Life with Music Scroll Georges Braque, 1937

9. The Echo Georges Braque, 1954

10. Composition with Skull
Pablo Picasso, 1908

11. Head of a Woman
Pablo Picasso, 1908

12. Bread and dish with
fruits on the table
Pablo Picasso, 1909

13. Woman and pears
(Fernande)
Pablo Picasso, 1909

14. Guitar
Pablo Picasso, 1912

15. The Student
Pablo Picasso, 1919

16. Untitled
Pablo Picasso, 1937

17. Plaster Head and Arm Pablo Picasso, 1925

18. Bullfight Pablo Picasso, 1934

19. Crying Woman
Pablo Picasso, 1937

20. Bottles and Knife
Juan Gris, 1911

21. Blue Landscape
Nathan Altman, 1912

22. Portrait of a
Philosopher
Lyubov Popova, 1915

23. Music
Jury Annenkov
1922

24. Still Life with Violin
Gino Severini, 1964