Cubism

The opening of the twentieth century marked a period of economic, social and scientific transformation, which was reflected in Cubism as an artistic movement. The Cubists, with Picasso as their foremost member, expressed a new perception of the world. In more traditional painting, the artist is static before the object or scene depicted; but in Cubist art the painter seems to see and render the subject from all sides at once. Cubism constituted an explosion of perception. In 1901 Picasso's first exhibition in Paris showed the influence of Pointillist painters such as Seurat, and throughout his 'Blue Period' and 'Pink Period' his work was powerful yet still fairly conventional in style. But in 1907 came the painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, showing the influence of Negro sculpture and a distinctly Cubist attempt to give a multiple viewpoint rather than create a realistic imitation of appearances. A critic coined the epithet 'cubist' in 1908. At the same time, Juan Gris associated himself with the movement, establishing himself, with Georges Braque, as its other great practitioner.

From around 1910 Picasso and Braque began to apply unusual elements to their canvases - cut-up newspapers, sand, corrugated cardboard. Robert Delaunay painted bright discs of warm color; Fernand Léger developed his passion for the industrial landscape. The movement marked a uniquely inventive and energetic moment of creativity in painting, promising endless areas of investigation for ever more artists. Yet, though many artists did follow the style well into the twentieth century, the First World War marked the end of its most vital period. The film also features the work of Villon, Metzinger, Gleizes, Kupka, de la Fresnaye and others.

Part of the series The Adventure of Modern Art