Cubism was an early 20th century avant-garde art movement pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque that revolutionized painting. It emphasized depicting objects from multiple perspectives and using geometric forms rather than realistic detail. There were three periods of Cubism: Early Cubism depicted the whole structure of objects combining viewpoints; Analytic Cubism broke down subjects into facets showing different viewpoints; and Synthetic Cubism introduced collage with painting fragments.

2. Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement
that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and
inspired related movements
in music, literature and architecture.
Pablo Picasso is one of the artists who
pioneered this movement.
There are Three periods of Cubism:
Early Cubism (1908-1910)
Analytic Cubism (1910-12)
Synthetic Cubism (1912-1914)

3. Early Cubism: depiction of the
whole structure of the object and
its position in space, combining
different viewpoints.
The Vase, Bowl, Lemon, Picasso 1907

4. Analytical Cubism: breaking down of
the subject and the space around it into
angular planes or facets that record
different viewpoints and information;
no interest in colour or texture
Clarinet and Bottle of Rum on a mantelpiece, Braque
1911

5. Synthetic Cubism: collages of
interlocked fragments of
newspaper, wallpaper, and labels
with fragments of painting,
drawing and writing; colour
reintroduced & texture & pattern
Bottle, Glass, Guitar and newspaper,
Picasso 1913

6. Originated by Pablo Picasso and Georges
Braque paintings
Emphasizes flat, two-dimensional surface
Cubism rejects perspective,
chiaroscuro(The treatment of light and shade
in drawing and painting)
 It Contains Geometric forms without realistic detail.
Refutes art as the imitation of nature

7.  Flat colour – no illusion of 3D by using
shading or tonal modelling
 Objects painted from different angles.
 Complex interlocking shapes create
feelings of tension & anxiety in viewer
 Vertical or diagonal plane lines disrupt the
composition
 Details are edited out = simplify, select &
modify from nature

8. Characteristics of Cubism:
 Abstract
 Broken Mirror Effect
 Rearranged
 Geometric
 More than one view
 Simplified Shapes

9. Abstract: does not look like real life

10. Broken mirror effect:
Three Musicians
Braque:
Houses at La Estaque 1909
Ambroise Vollard by Braque

11. Rearranged:
Acrobat
Portrait of Marie-Thérèse

12. Geometric shapes:
Jacqueline with Crossed Hands
Girl with a Boat

13. More than one view:
Nusch Éluard Marie-Therese Walter

14. Simplified shapes:
Harlequin

15. Getting as close to reality as possible by
representing a real, natural object on a flat canvas
by showing every side of the object.
Taking each point of view and emphasizing the
geometric shapes by spreading all of these points
out on a canvas.
Unfolding an image.
As Cubism developed, Picasso began to combine
several points of view of an object and to overlap
them ᾶ this led to some images becoming almost
unrecognizable.

16. Why Cubism: To reject traditional perspective
and explore
ideas of time and space—show portraits, still
life,
and landscape from several angles at once;
explore boundaries of illusion and what’s real
How Cubism: By breaking up the picture plane
into
facets, using geometric shapes, adding lettering,
constructing collage and assemblage