Georges Braque: Cubist Artist, Life, Works, Biography

Georges Braque
Biography And Paintings Of Georges Braque, The Founder Of Cubism with Pablo Picasso

Houses at L'Estaque (1906)

Georges Braque (1882-1963)

Together with Pablo Picasso, French painter Georges Braque founded Cubism, one of the most important and influential art movements of the 20th century. Impressionism and Fauvism significantly influenced his early career, but he soon developed his own groundbreaking path, inspired at first by seeing Picasso's revolutionary Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. His most notable works include Man with a Guitar, 1911, (The Museum of Modern Art, New York), Fruit on a Tablecloth with a Fruit Dish 1925, (Musee National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris ) and Woman with a Mandolin (1937, Museum of Modern Art, New York). Throughout his art career he experimented with collage, printmaking and sculpture.

Large Nude (1908)

Born in Argenteuil, France in 1882 his family moved to Le Havre, where a few years later in 1899 he attended the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1902 he continued his studies at the Académie Humbert in Paris. Around this time, he became associated with the Fauve movement, through is friendships with French Fauvist’s Raoul Dufy and Othon Friesz. Henri Mattise was one of the main proponents of this group. His Fauvism period proved transitory, and within 2 years on being influenced by Paul Cezanne's mature works he started reducing his paintings to simple cubes of dull grays and greens. Around this time, in 1908, he was introduced to Pablo Picasso and the two became inseparable until 1914.

Violin and Candlestick (1910)

The years between 1909-1911 became known as the Analytical Cubism period , and Man with the Guitar is considered one of his masterpieces from this time. In 1912, by attaching three pieces of wallpaper to the drawing Fruit Dish and Glass (drawing, private collection), he had introduced collage to his works (or papier collé) thus ushering in the style of Synthetic Cubism. Along with Picasso, Braque became the undisputed King of the Cubist movement, and by the 1920's he was already very recognized and successful. From about 1918 onwards, he largely abandoned collages and the rigors of cubism for a more personal style, predominantly painting still life until his death in 1963. Other great works he produced include Musical Instruments, 1908 (private collection), Bottle, Newspaper, Pipe and Glass, 1913 (private collection, New York) and Interior with Palette, 1942 (The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas).

Cubism became one of the most important movements in modern art, and went on to influence a generation of artists and inspired other movements including de Blaue Reiter, Futurism, Neo-Plasticism and Suprematism. It a testament to his genius, that George Braque became the first living artist to have his works exhibited in the Louvre in 1961. His paintings are represented in leading galleries in Europe and the United States, including the The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Kunstmuseum, Bern, and the Moderna Museet, Stockholm.

• For a guide to art movements and periods, see: History of Art.
• For more biographies of great painters, see Old Masters and Famous Artists.
• For information about fine art in Ireland, see: Irish Art: Visual Arts Cork.