Cubism - A Modern Art
Hailed as the modern art of the 20th century, cubism gave a new dimension to abstract art forms. Cubist painters depicted the unseen side of the subject on to the canvas that is far from the original subject. They are represented by geometrical shapes that more or less represent the subject in a different perspective. Straight lines, corrugated triangles and crystalline shapes are found to be more dominant on a cubism palette. It all started in 1913, where shapes were used to define the subject and was known as the analytical form of cubism. Analyzing the subject to the core and presenting it in a simplified form is the ideology behind cubism.
The evolution of cubism was kick started by the renowned painter Pablo Picasso and Braque. Both started to experiment with different theories and forms of art and landed on a common platform. Making the transition was not an easy one and it took time to move from figurative paintings to non defined ones. Present day contemporary abstract painters trace back cubism to the works of Gauguin and other predecessors. Reduced forms of the original subject gave a new life to the canvas. The use of geometrical figures gave them the freedom to experiment and express the subject in a different manner. You can study the works of Pablo and Braque to understand about what cubism exactly depicts. It can be bizarre such as portraying the inside and outside on the same plane.
Most of Picasso's work on the ideology of cubism happened right after the First World War. In the formative years of cubism, Pablo spent time reducing the subjects to geometrical figures and the latter part of the years were spent on evolving a new trend known as synthetic cubism. The latter development was initiated by a painter known as Gris, while Pablo and Braque popularized the development by applying it to their works. With the either of these two, Analytical cubism wins the upper hand, where bold or bright colors portrays the strong relation between the subject and the painter. It is less defined than synthetic cubism and is widely in use by a lot of present age contemporary painters.
To delve a little deeper on understanding about cubism, we need to understand about the working analogy of Pablo. Like other painters of his time, Pablo worked with pale and subtle colors that soften the tone of the subject. It represented modesty and was clearer than other art forms. Breaking down the work with warmer tones highlighted the shadow of the subject in a different light. The earlier works of Pablo helped the painter to better the theory of cubism. The transformation to geometric shapes gave a new outline to the subject and it was hailed as modern art by many of his followers.
Expressing in the most minimalistic way about the object is the concept of the cubism. Reduction in art forms paved the way for futuristic cubist painters. They studied the works of many noted cubist painters and have followed their footsteps. Some like to follow, while others have adapted and modified the movement to suit their theory of expression.
