Pablo Picasso, Early Cubism

#ArtSaturday Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso
known simply as Picasso
1881-1973
Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker
co-inventor of Cubism, co-inventor of collage

Picasso (photo by Bonet) pic.twitter.com/DjCoLMj2wk

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
“Blue Period” is applied to paintings done between 1901-1904 when Picasso primarily used a monochromatic palette comprised of blue and blue-green.
Blue Nude, 1901
Soup, 1902-03
Life, 1903
Old Guitarist, 1903https://t.co/V9piOBukfo pic.twitter.com/QcWf00xeZm

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
Coming out of clinical depression when almost all his paintings were blue/blue-green (Blue Period), Picasso began using rose, orange, & earth tones (Rose Period)
Boy with a Pipe, 1905
Actor, 1904-05
Mother & Child, 1905https://t.co/YcBWRK4Zlz pic.twitter.com/s9pDN0yt8m

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
After being an exhibition of African masks, Picasso began distorting the figures in paintings into more angular forms (African-Influenced Period).
Bust of a Woman, 1907
Head of a Woman, 1907
Nude with Raised Arms, 1907https://t.co/CkZzyEYEPb pic.twitter.com/Aa6owZfeai

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
Picasso’s Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon (1907) is the most famous painting of his African-Influenced Period: it is also considered the start of his early Cubism Period. pic.twitter.com/5AOA0AUl67

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
The earliest indications of Picasso’s trend toward Cubism, a movement he co-founded, appeared in his Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907, especially in the figures on the right, which were strongly influenced by African masks. pic.twitter.com/gr8EpZnrNs

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
Cubism as an art movement was founded by Picasso and his comrade Georges Braque, both of whom wanted to “analyze” natural forms in objects.

Picasso, Self-Portrait, 1907 pic.twitter.com/WX7ve9pxjQ

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
Picasso’s paintings display the same “flatness” of facial features (in portraits) and “flat” dimensions that many of his African-Inspired art displayed.

Decanter and Tureens, 1908 pic.twitter.com/8yCcSkbI7Q

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
Instead of emphasizing colors, Cubist painters emphasized shapes and forms, like cylinders, planes, spheres, and cones.

Flowers in a Grey Jug with Glass and Spoon, 1908 pic.twitter.com/Q0iqHRpreU

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
Picasso had long been attempting to “escape” the confines of life-like painting that had predominated art for centuries.

Green Bowl and Black Bottle, 1908 pic.twitter.com/otihnJOjo2

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
Picasso did not feel himself bound to portray objects realistically, but he and many of his fellow artists longed for a new manner of expression.

Self-Portrait (Blue Period), 1901
Self-Portrait (African-Influenced Period), 1907 pic.twitter.com/x0dX4IDGgz

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
Cubism and its analysis of geometric forms allowed Picasso to “escape” life-like paintings and give his complex impressions, so to speak, of what he was painting.

Swimming, 1908 pic.twitter.com/kJ3X0DXTVc

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
During some early stages of Cubism, the work of the two co-founders, Picasso and Braque, shared many similarities, including color palettes.

Ma Jolie, by Picasso, 1911, and Portuguese, by Braque, 1911 pic.twitter.com/swm8lIXmjB

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
Both Picasso and Braque moved away from realistic painting toward abstraction.

Fernande (Picasso’s lover and companion), 1909 pic.twitter.com/pJwH4LUqpq

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
Cubism, pioneered by Picasso and others, was considered a radical expression of the rapidly changing modern world.

Friendship (also, Two Nudes), 1908 pic.twitter.com/m0tNbiPcLL

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
Cubism abandoned Realism in an attempt to present multiple perspectives of the object in the painting all at the same time.

Three Women, 1908 pic.twitter.com/Qd82i1UNaR

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
Cubism, led by Picasso and Braque, is considered the beginning of Modern art in painting.

Woman with Pears, 1909
(Picasso’s partner Fernande) pic.twitter.com/nFbC4UUuCz

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
The presentation of different perspectives of the objects or the sitter in the paintings makes the work appear fragmented, angular, or distorted.

Box, Bowl of Fruit, and Mug, 1908 pic.twitter.com/f3OkrXJFN2

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
The name “Cubism” comes from a comment by art critic Louis Vauxcelles, who, upon seeing an early exhibition by Picasso and Braque, said the artists had reduced things to “geometric forms or cubes.”

Bread and Fruit Dish on a Table, 1909 pic.twitter.com/295FF7AESk

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
Picasso and other contemporaneous artists abandoned the traditional realistic perspectives of objects and the representational modes of sitters in portraits.

Head of a Woman (both Fernande), 1909 pic.twitter.com/v2S24j8LFs

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
Cubism, and Picasso’s work during this period, went through many different “types” of Cubism as the artists strove to make a new art form that represented the fragmentation of their contemporary society.

Naked Woman, Sitting, 1909 pic.twitter.com/y3i112jnJ5

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
Before Picasso, art was very traditional, realistic, and life-like: Picasso wanted to go beyond realism to a new form of art, and Cubism helped him go there.

Seated Woman, 1909 pic.twitter.com/KUcKoMGrCZ

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
Picasso was strongly influenced by relativity, i.e., how you see/paint an object changes depending on many factors, including time, emotions, present observations, & memories of object

Bread and Fruit Dish on a Table, 1909 pic.twitter.com/jFLePeTU5B

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
Picasso wanted his paintings of an object to conflict with the reality of the object in order to show multiple realities, so viewers experienced a new way of seeing things.

Factory in Horta, 1909 pic.twitter.com/O0QHsfoq7H

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
Picasso’s Cubism became more about “how to see an object” rather than about what the artist saw when he was painting the object.

Pot, Wine Glass, Book, 1908; Glass, Apple, Books, 1909 pic.twitter.com/jgNihIvFHG

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
Picasso’s Cubist paintings show objects in different time periods, sometimes with movement, from different perspectives, etc., all presented at the same time to the viewer.

Naked Woman, Sitting (also, Seated), 1909 pic.twitter.com/h7bDgKOu7l

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Cubism, the Early years, 1907-1909
Cubism paved the way for Abstract Art.

Woman Sitting in a Chair Eating Flowers, 1909 pic.twitter.com/Ea9JD1PiVF

— Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. (@Alexandria_SZ) September 8, 2018

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
As Picasso’s techniques and art continued to evolve, some of his fellow painters declared that he had “abandoned” or “defected from” Cubism and its principles.

Woman Sitting in a Chair Eating Flowers, 1909 pic.twitter.com/PY1N46LtTA

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
As Picasso’s personal life began to dramatically change, and as he became more famous as an artist, his work, too, began to change.

Glass, Apple, and Books, 1909 pic.twitter.com/DrIgKl0X4n

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
After World War I, Picasso’s art would return, at times, to more realistic portrayals of subjects and objects in paintings, which some of his contemporaries considered a “betrayal” of their “modern” art.

Still Life with Bottles of Liquor, 1909 pic.twitter.com/IgqeE2xbnW

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

#ArtSaturday Picasso, Early Cubism
Picasso often changed his style of painting, and he always interspersed various styles and elements of his different “periods” as he worked. He is one of the most important artists in the 20th century.

Picasso in his Studio in France, 1956 pic.twitter.com/qzMK8WtTw3

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) September 7, 2019

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