Georges Braque's Cubist Movement

Born May 13, 1882 in Argenteuil, France, Georges Braque, along with his close friend Picasso would go on to revolutionize painting with his deep investigation into perspective, shape, texture and line that would ultimately form the movement known as cubism. This exploration foreshadowed and greatly influenced later art, specifically the pop art movement.

Due to the invention of photography in the mid-19th century, several artists struggled to determine the purpose of art if not to depict reality. Photography could capture and present an exact moment in time; therefore, the public did not need art to do the same. So, what is art? In order to answer this question, artists resolved to strip art down to its most simplistic forms and confront

While Braque was reportedly critical of Picasso’s proto-cubist work Demoiselles d’Avingon at first, the two became good friends and would eventually found the cubist movement. Both Picasso and Braque would share ideas daily, and at one point in time, the two artists’ work is almost

After seeing Braque’s new style, Matisse, Braque’s former colleague, would declare that the work had been painted “with little cubes;” thus the movement developed its name.

One of Braque’s most famous works The Portuguese, painted in 1911 with oil on canvas, exemplifies Matisse’s comments. The painting depicts a Portuguese man as he plays his guitar in a café in Marseille. Lacking color and difficult to decipher, it is clear why this painting gurnard so much critism. However, after contemplating the scene for a while, it is easy to make out the strings of the guitar, the man’s arms and face, and a rope in a background. Nevertheless, critics were still uncomfortable with this new style.

Cézanne, a post-impressionist who also examined how the shape of an object changes with perspective, inspired much of Braque’s work. When examining The Portuguese the blocky shapes and almost structured movements recall Cézanne’s Mont Sainte Victoire, painted in