Early Cubist Painting (c.1907-9)

In 1907 and 1908, deeply influenced by Paul Cezanne's geometric-style landscapes, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque set about extending their mentor's ideas. First, they completed a series of landscape paintings that were very similar to those by Paul Cezanne, both in their palette (dark greens, light browns) and simplified geometrical shapes. They painted houses in the form of 3-D cubes (see Braque's Houses at L'Estaque and Picasso's Houses on the Hill, at Horta de Ebro). It was these paintings that the French art critic Louis Vauxelles was referring to in 1909, when he used the expression 'bizarreries cubiques', which led to the adoption of the word Cubism.

Houses on the Hill (1908) by Pablo
Picasso. Note the resemblance
to Braque's Estaque work, above.

Absence of Perspective

In this early phase of 'prototype Cubism', Picasso and Braque utilized other technical devices to undermine the illusion of space. To begin with, they rejected all conventions of linear perspective: for instance, buildings appear one on top of the other instead of standing one behind the other. Secondly, in Houses on the Hill, as well as turning the houses into cubic shapes, Picaso also used similar imagery for the background. By rendering earth and sky in the same way, he introduced greater unity to the picture but also introduced ambiguity: after all, there was now less difference between the ground and the air.

The Dance Of The Veils (1907)
by Pablo Picasso.

Differing Sources of Light

A third technique used by both Braque and Picasso in their early Cubist art, involved the use of different light sources. Unlike traditional pictures that display a consistent light source (to create the illusion of three-dimensional space), in Cubist canvases light appears to enter the composition from numerous different angles thus confusing the viewer whether shapes are convex or concave.

Experimental Period of Cubism

Braque's and Picasso's early prototype Cubist-style painting reveal ongoing experimentation and lack the consistency of their later works. Compositions included solid massing of coloured chunks, and perspective was rendered by means of colour, the warm reddish browns for foreground, cool blues for background.

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Notable Early Cubist Paintings

Georges Braque:
Houses at L'Estaque (1908), Hermann Rupf Collection, Bern.
Road Near L'Estaque (1908), Museum of Modern art, NYC.
Large Nude (1908), Musee National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou.

Pablo Picasso:
Glass Vessels (1906), Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
Houses on the Hill (1909), Museum of Modern Art, New York.
The Dance of the Veils (Nude with Drapes) (1907), Hermitage Museum.
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), Museum of Modern art, NYC.
Composition with Skull (1908), Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
Pot, Glass and Book (1908), Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
Pitcher and Bowls (1908), Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.

For works by other Cubists, see Cubist Painters.

Mature Cubist Painting

Braque and Picasso's more mature cubist work is usually divided into two overlapping phases - the monochromatic Analytical Cubism (c.1909-12) and the more decorative Synthetic Cubism (1912-14).

• For 20th century artworks, see Modern Art, its successor Contemporary Art and Postmodernism.
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