Cubism was a new approach to art represented by paintings that seem fragmented, and abstract. Through the many artists such as Pablo Picasso and George Braque, we are able to see many examples of Cubism. In fact, Cubism became an extremely prominent, influential style of the 20th century. There are two phases of Cubism: Analytical Cubism and Synthetic Cubism. Analytical Cubism is made up of lines in tones of black, or grey. Analytical Cubism focused more on cylinders, spheres, and cones to represent the world. On the other hand, Synthetic Cubism consists of simpler shapes than Analytical Cubism, with much brighter colors.
Picasso wanted to revert from this traditional style of art and took into account his observations and memories. Cubism is able to incorporate a new perspective of how we see things in the world around us. Greatly influenced by African Art, Picasso would distort figures on one singular plane. These artists aimed to show different viewpoints within the same space and created an illusion of depth. Picasso was able to utilize monochromatic colors, especially to convey unemotional subjects. Focused on abstraction, he incorporated textures such as newspaper scraps in his works.
<- Picasso’s “Weeping Woman” was a response to a
bombing of a Spanish Town of Guernica. The painting
depicts the atrocities of war, especially since there were
hundreds of deaths. This painting incorporates many
vivid colors of a distorted figure.