Presentation of the Movements - Cubism

Berthille Lorillou

Publié le 20 August 2025

In November 1908, Louis Vauxcelles' words were published. "He scorns form and reduces everything, sites, figures, houses, to geometric diagrams, to cubes..." He, who had given his name to Fauvism, did the same with Cubism with regard to the paintings of Georges Braque created at L'Estaque and exhibited in November at the Kahnweiler Gallery in Paris. A second hypothesis regarding the origin of this group's name suggests that it came from Henri Matisse when he saw a painting of houses.

Means and Techniques

However, Cubism, although criticized by the art critic, required significant technical virtuosity. Indeed, illustrating three dimensions on a two-dimensional medium was not within everyone's reach. Cubist artists rethought the conventional perspective developed during the Renaissance, as discussed by Alberti in his work De Pictura.

The central part of a painter's work is to deconstruct reality in order to assemble the different planes of the object being observed. The artist composes his work by superimposing multiple views of the subject on a surface. Sometimes by overlapping the planes.The manifesto of Cubism, Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, attests to this division.

While remaining anthropomorphic, the bodies of these women are broken down into small, assembled geometric facets. The theme of what is considered the first Cubist work refers to Édouard Manet's Olympia scandal, as it depicts prostitutes.

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907, oil on canvas, 243.9 x 233.7 cm, New York, MoMA

A Fruitful Encounter

Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso photographed by Mariette Lachaud

This movement was born from the association of the artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. The two artists met through Guillaume Apollinaire in 1907. In Montmartre, in Picasso's Bateau-Lavoir studio, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon was nearing completion. Picasso quickly visited Braque's studio to discover his landscapes. They began collaborating and exchanging their artistic perceptions in 1908.

Georges Braque, The Viaduct at L'Estaque, 1908, oil on canvas, 72 x 59 cm, Paris, Centre Pompidou

Major Inspirations

They were both great admirers of Paul Cézanne. A painter of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Cézanne stated: "Nature must be treated through the cylinder, the sphere, the cone." This quote parallels this artist's vision with the geometrization of forms employed by Braque and Picasso. The appreciation of Cézanne's work is reflected in the subjects he explored: landscapes, still lifes, portraits. The same is true for the palette and the organization of certain spaces.

Paul Cézanne, Mount Sainte-Victoire seen from Bellevue, c. 1892-1895, oil on canvas, 73 x 92 cm, Philadelphia, Barnes Foundation

Paul Cézanne, Winding Road at Montgeroult, 1898, oil on canvas, 81.3 x 65.7 cm, New York, MoMA

Furthermore, the museumization of many foreign artifacts, particularly at the Trocadéro, allowed artists to draw inspiration from other media and motifs. In Picasso's faces, the features of certain African masks are visible.

Ngil mask, Fang Gabon, wood and pigments, H. 51 cm, Paris, Musée Dapper

One movement, three phases

Pre-Cubism or Cézanian Cubism

The first phase took place from 1907 to 1909. It is called Pre-Cubism or Cézanian Cubism. The latter corresponds to Picasso's Demoiselles d'Avignon and Braque's Maisons à l'Estaque, for example.

The viewer can then observe the geometric treatment of volumes and the diversity of simultaneous perspectives.

Georges Braque, Houses at L'Estaque, 1908, oil on canvas, 73 x 59 cm, private collection

Analytical Cubism

Analytical Cubism corresponds to the period 1909-1912. The style features more geometric motifs and a more pronounced fragmentation. The range of colors is limited. Artists gravitate toward neutral tones such as black, gray, ochre, and brown. This period introduced collage and the use of printed characters and trompe l'oeil.

This work by Picasso marked the beginning of these new techniques. It includes the word "JOU."

Pablo Picasso, Still Life with Caned Chair, 1912, oil on canvas framed with rope, Paris, Musée National Picasso

This was the period during which most of the Cubist artists we know joined the group. Among them were Juan Gris, Albert Gleizes, Marcel Duchamp, and others. In 1911, the Cubist artists met in Room 41 of the Salon des Indépendants.

The silhouette is broken down into movement and geometry. The dynamic nature of the descent of the stairs is inspired by the chronophotography of Edward Muybridge.

Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2, 1912, oil on canvas, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Albert Gleizes, Portrait of Jacques Nayral, 1911, oil on canvas, 161.9 x 114 cm, London, Tate Museum

Synthetic Cubism

New artists joined Cubism during this umpteenth period from 1913 to 1914. Cubism as a collective movement ended with the outbreak of war. Collages became more prominent, and the palette expanded to include red, yellow, blue, and green, all of which became more vibrant.

Franz Marc was a nature lover; his work regularly featured animal subjects. He was also a member of the Blaue Reiter group.

Franz Marc, The Tiger, 1912, Munich, Lenbachhaus Museum

Juan Gris, Still Life with Guitar, 1913, oil on canvas, 66 x 100.3 cm, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sonia Delaunay and her husband, Robert Delaunay, who had already joined the Cubist group some time earlier, gradually moved towards abstraction, and more specifically, Orphic abstraction.

Sonia Delaunay, Le Bal Bullier, 1913, oil on canvas, 97 x 390 cm, Paris, Centre Pompidou

Towards Abstraction

Abstraction and Cubism are closely linked, particularly in the geometrization of forms. The major difference between these two movements is the notion of reality. Cubists borrow pre-existing forms and subjects and rework them. Abstraction artists create a composition without regard for reality.

To find out more about the abstraction movement, read all our articles on the subject on our online platform.

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