Drawing Techniques - Cubism

The very name Cubism came from this Braque painting 'House at L'Estaque'. When the critic Vauxcelles saw the painting he said the houses "look like a bunch of little cubes." He meant the comment to be insulting but the name Cubism stuck.

Georges Braque - House at L'Estaque 1908

But in reality cubism was born of two parents: primitive art and Cezanne.

Paul Cezanne - Rocky Landscape 1903

The movement went from 1907 to 1920's and began in Paris, France. It soon became one of the most influentional arts of all time. Famous cubist painters included Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris of Spain and Georges Braque, Paul Cezanne, Robert Delaunay, Fernand Leger, Albert Gleizes, Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamp and Roger de la Fresnage of France.
There were three basic types of cubism; primitive cubism, analytical cubism and synthetic cubism.

PRIMITIVE CUBISM

Primitive cubism began in 1907 and went until 1908.
The painting D'Avignon Young Ladies by Pablo Picasso painted in 1907, really kicked off the cubist movement.

Pablo Picasso - Les Demoiselles d'Avignon 1907

Paul Cezanne's doctrine of cubism during this time defined what cubism was made of. "Every thing in nature takes it's form from the sphere, cone or cylinder." This quote was the basis of painting for seven years. Paul Cezanne's influence was most noted in Georges Braque's work Road near L'Estaque.

The Vase, Bowl, Lemon by Picasso in 1907 is another example.

Pablo Picasso - The Vase, Bowl, Lemon 1907

ANALYTICAL CUBISM

Analytical cubism went from approximately 1908 to 1912.
In this period, cubists explored the pure form of subjects. To do this, the artists mentally broke the subject into flat planes and arranged them in complex, overlapping relationships. Artists used only grays, browns, dark greens, ochre, dark yellows and monochrome in the works to maintain an emotionless scene. Picasso's Ma Jolie from 1912 is a classic example of this technique.

Pablo Picasso - Ma jolie 1912


SYNTHETIC CUBISM

Synthetic cubism began in 1912 through the 1920's.

During this time, artists felt freer to use more colors.The pictures were more realistic looking but still were based on geometric shapes. Artists instead, showed many view that would not be possible in real life. Yellows, reds, greens and other bright colors were being used. Artsits like Fernand Leger really came out.

Fernand Leger - Life with a beer mug 1921


Fernand Leger - Three women 1921

Geometric objects were being mixed with regular forms in bright colors. The Guitar by Juan Gris painted in 1913 is a good example of this mix.

Juan Gris - The Guitar 1913

Other examples of synthetic cubism


Robert Delaunay - The Red Tower 1911


Pablo Picasso - Harlequin with Violin 1918

A simpe example of cubist drawing technique.


Reference sites and images:
http://www.angelfire.com/co/artgeometry/
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/B/braque/housesle.jpg.html
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/unit16/unit16.html#Cubism