George Braque Biography Essay Example For Students

George Braque Biography Essay Although George Braque May 13, 1882 Aug. 31, 1963 was one of the most influential painters of the twentieth century his name is all but forgotten. He has received little credit for his efforts towards the creation of analytic cubism. Many art historians believe that his prestigious role as father of analytic cubism was cut short because of Picassos fame. Many arguments have arisen asking the question: Who is the father of cubism? There is no doubt that Picasso started the spark which ignited modern art movements with the creation of Les Demoiselles dAvignon.. But, soon after Picasso created this work Braque created Houses at LEstaque. This painting started the analytic phase of cubism. With this in mind, it can be stated that Picasso is the father of modern twentieth century art and Braque is the father of analytic cubism. George Braque is one of the most influential painters of the twentieth century. He co-worked with Picasso to create cubism and helped spark all the future art movements of the twentieth century. As well as this, he was the influence that made Picasso the fame that he was to become. Braque has never received the recognition he should have because of Picassos fame, but his personal position in the art community was high and his involvement with World War One was a major culprits that aided in his downfall in artistic popularity. Who the father of cubism? , has always been a question that has pondered the minds of art historians and scholars. It is clear though that both Braque and Picasso played their prominent role in the creation of cubism. Picasso provided, with his proto-Cubist Demoiselles, the initial liberating shock. But it was Braque, largely because of his admiration for Cezanne, who provided much of the early tendency toward geometrical forms. Braques early tendency towards geometric form and cubes was the spark which ignited the minds of all future cubist artists; including Picasso. If there is one painting that is possibly one of the most influential images regarding cubism in the twenty first century it is George Braques Houses at LEstaque. During the summer of 1908 in southern France, Braque painted a series of radically innovative canvases, of which the most celebrated is Houses at LEstaque; in this painting we can see the slab volumes, sober coloring, and warped perspective typical of the first part of what has been called the analytical phase of Cubism. This painting was shown in a show at Kahnweilers gallery. It provoked from the Paris critic Louis Vauxcelles a remark about cubes that soon blossomed into a stylistic label. This painting was the painting that gave cubism its name. Vauxcelless remarked about the canvas being full of small cubes, and this comment was the spark that constituted the name of the movement. Braque undertook Vauxcelles criticisms, much like other movements of the past, and used it for the name of the movement. Flam, 144 In Houses at LEstaque all the sensuous elements of Braques previous years were banished. Color has been reduced to a severe combination of browns, dull greens and grays. The curving rhythms have given way to a system of vertical and horizontal, broken only by the forty-five degree diagonals of roof-tops and trees. All details have been eliminated and the foliage of the trees reduced to a minimum to reveal the geometric severity of the houses. These are continued upwards almost to the top of the canvas so that the eye is allowed no escape beyond them. The picture plane is further emphasized by the complete lack of aerial perspective the far houses are, if anything, darker and stronger in value than the foreground house, and by the fact that occasionally contours are broken and forms opened up into each other. Belonging: the Crucible.Hotel California EssayFrank, 18 Rapidly, however, he moved away from austere geometry toward forms softened by looser drawing and freer brushwork; an example of the change is the 1919 Still Life with Playing Cards. From this point onward his style ceased to evolve in the methodical way it had during the successive phases of Cubism; it became a series of personal variations on the stylistic heritage of the eventful years before World War I. This change in Braques style, and his with drawl from cubism during the war 1914-1918 were the major contributors to his loss of fame. Before the war the two artist, Braque and Picasso, were considered equals in every aspect of painting. But, Braque left the art scene for four years and Picasso used this time to accelerate his career ahead of Braque. Braques name was all but forgotten due to this absence. George Braque, through his creation of Houses LEstaque set the standards for analytic cubism. He is the father of analytic cubism, but this is a title that the general public has no recollection of. Picasso took the title away from Braque when he was leading the movement during World War One. George Braque was out of the art scene for to long to ever recover his role as the prominent figure of cubism. John, 31 Braque, along side Picasso, can be credited with sparking the creations of various artistic styles with their creation of the new visual language of cubism. His visual language of cubism was adopted and further developed by numerous painters which followed his lead. Such painters are Fernand LÃÆ' ©ÃƒÆ' ©ger, Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Juan Gris, Roger de la Fresnaye, Marcel Duchamp, Albert Gleizes, and Jean Metzinger. Though primarily a style associated with painting, Cubism also exerted a profound influence on 20th-century sculpture and architecture. Chief among the sculptors who worked in this style are Alexander Archipenko, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, and Jacques Lipchitz. The adoption of the Cubist aesthetic by the architect Le Corbusier is reflected in the shapes of the houses he designed during the 1920s. The cubist style that was created by Braque and Picasso was a fundamental foundation for the future generations of modernist painters. This style was an essential building block in modern art. George Braque, along with Picasso are the two most influential artists of the twenty first century. Flam, 144 Who is the father of cubism? Well I would have to agree that Both Picasso and Braque put their efforts together when creating cubism, but Braque was the first to create an analytic work: House at LEstaque. They are both leaders of cubism, but Braque was the first to create a cubist work, so he should receive the title of father of cubism. These two leaders of cubism are the two most influential painters of the twentieth century. Braque and Picasso both were the foundation artists who started an aspect of all the future art movements of the twentieth century. Golding 144 Braque has never received the recognition he should have because of Picassos fame, but by examining his life story and understanding the circumstances involved during his life we can see that he has been disregarded as the prominent figure that he is. Braques House at LEstaque is the painting that sparked the start of analytic cubism and that painting is one of the turning points in art. Although Picasso became the father of modern art with his Les Demoiselles dAvignon, Braque is the father of cubism because he created the first analytic work. Braque has never received the recognition he deserves, and it coincides well with a quote that Braque stated himself: In art there is only one thing that counts: the thing you cant explain. George Braque