Cubism (c. 1908 CE - 1914 CE)

Moving away from the emotion of Fauvism, Cubists sought to logically abstract their surroundings. Influenced by the style and distortion of African art, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque began working in the Cubist style around 1906, and the style remained popular among artists for several decades. Cubists broke their subjects into geometric forms and used multiple vantage points to emphasize the two-dimensionality of the canvas.

Of the two types of Cubism, Analytic was much more abstract, reducing figures to unidentifiable shapes and relying on an almost monochromatic color scheme. Synthetic Cubism also used multiple vantage points. However, subjects were more recognizable, though simplified, and color was returned. Artists did not limit themselves to paintings and drawings, and Cubist sculpture emerged, following the same principles. The influences of Cubism were far-reaching, affecting much of art in the 1900s.

Richard Koppe's Woman in the Yellow Dress is an example of Synthetic Cubism. The figure and her instrument are clearly identifiable, but depicted using geometric shapes. Both the front and side views of the woman's face and the guitar handle can be seen. Take a look at the African mask featured in the Timeline. Can you see a connection between the characteristics of this object and Cubism?

Woman in the Yellow Dress, 1941
Richard Koppe, American
(1916-1973)
Watercolor
29 inches H; 22 inches W
Works Progress Administration Allocation
1943.502.008
World Events

1906 Einstein introduces theory of relativity.

1906 President Theodore Roosevelt is the first American awarded Nobel Peace Prize.

1939 World War II begins in Europe.

1941 National Gallery of Art opens in Washington, D.C.

1941 Bombing of Pearl Harbor.

DARCY DISCUSSES: ABSTRACTION

Cubism is one of the more influential art styles. Surrealism and Dada have roots in Cubism. Many artists who pursue abstraction owe much to the liberation of formal art concepts that Cubism introduced.

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