Europe, 1908-1920
One of the most influential art movements of the twentieth century, Cubism
was developed between about 1908 and 1912 in a collaboration between
Pablo Picasso and
Georges Braque.
The term cubism derived its name from comments made by critic Louis Vauxcelles,
who described Braque's 1908 work "House at L'Estaque" as looking rather like
a bunch of cubes. Their immediate influences are said to be African sculpture
(although Braque later disputed this) and the work of
Paul Cézanne.
Other artists in the movement include
Piet Mondrian,
Juan Gris and
Fernand Leger.
The key concept of Cubism is that the essence of objects can only be
captured by showing it from multiple points of view simultaneously. Cubism
had run its course by the end of World War I, but among the movements
directly influenced by it were Orphism, Purism, Precisionism,
Futurism, Constructivism,
and, to some degree,
Expressionism.