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Cubism, representation of modernity.

O e o side ed it a a d a opho i , a se o d o side ed it a


a thi d thought that the a tist

ould soo

e ita le ata lys , a d

it sui ide. It ould o e to e k o

as

Les De oiselles dA ig o , idely credited as the first Cubist painting. (Cowling. 2002 p. 160)
cited by Sgourev.
This quote beautifully defines how much of a shock the birth of cubism had on the
traditional circles and art critics living in Paris at the beginning of the 20 th century.
Biggest breakthrough in art since the Renaissance (Golding), cubism did not transcend the
art codes by chance. The addition of multiple factors played a consequent role in the
creation of such a unique mode of expression, from the social and economic contexts to the
origin of the birth, the city of Paris.
By exposing why cubist art is often depicted as a revolution, I will point out these different
factors and try to explain the reason why this movement is essentially the expression of
modernity.
I will start with some of the points presented during the presentation, mainly the
characteristics of cubism making it a new and one of a kind art form to some of the factors
that I found interesting in the development, the blossoming of this (short lived) artistic
movement: the rise of capitalism, the coming together of multiple artists, writers and
thinkers, and versatility of the movement itself in its capacity to branch out.
Lets go a k to the uote that sta ted this pape , a d the sho i g of Les Demoiselles
dA ig o . The author of this painting is Pablo Picasso, and along with his friend George
Braque, these are the artists who made the first step toward what would become the most
popular art movement between the turn of the century and WWI.
Both of them came together following the idea that art did not have to follow traditional
conventions anymore. Therefore, they started to create of their own, entirely new focused
on perception and interpretation more than on imitation. The result is striking: like Cezanne
des i ed it, atu e is o t eated

the sphe e, the

li de a d the o e and offers a

completely different perspective on what reality is supposed to look like. This description
matches perfectly well the painting just below:
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Le Viadu de lEsta ue

by Georges Braque captures a new way to

see the world, and draw our attention to what matters to the artist.
Here, the colors are very simple, the shapes matter more. There is a
clear distinction between nature and the man-made: green and blurry
versus brown and sharp edged. The confrontation of different spheres
within the art is central to cubism. Most themes approached by Picasso,
Braque or Lger originated with the rise of modernity, and cubism
made them collapse into each other: new inventions, the city,
colonialism, the other, the woman are some of the main ones. To go back to the stylistic
part, some skills are to keep in mind while analyzing paintings or sculptures: the multiple
vantage points

ea i g that

diffe e t aspe ts of a o je t ould si ulta eousl

po t a ed gou e , the deconstruction of space, as well as the oddly shaped and base
subject matters, all of these being radically different from any kind of art preceding.
In this painting by Lger, La Noce (1911), we can seize most of the components discussed
above, both stylistically and ideologically.
The lines draw our attention to the center of the painting where we find
the bride whose face is hard to distinguish, just like the groom behind
her and the rest of the procession surrounding them. Turned upside
down, lost in a space only defined by the four sides of the frame, the
people are arguably lost, or at the very least challenged by modernity
and these pointy shapes on the edge of the painting presumably the
city. He e, the a t of the

o e

ost likel sta ds fo the t aditio , the

eternal union and its notion in a changing and unstable world.


At this point, it seems correct to assume that most if not all cubist artists were known
for refusing the status quo, both artistic and social. Indeed, the act of rejecting conventions
did not only mean the creation of art, but the way art was perceived and its place in society.
Picasso was well known for having no interest whatsoever in exposing his work at galleries.
And if different movements like Orphism with the Delaunays were slightly different and
more commercial in nature by accepting to do exhibitions, one thing to keep in mind is that
for the first time in a long time, art was primarily created as a mean of expression, of critic,
with very little interest in pleasing the art dealers. This was again a radical novelty, a
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pe ulia

eha io of pu li

p o otio i the a t
ith hate e

ithd a al as i sta k contrast to the practices of self-

a ket, hi h de a ded o siste t effo ts at aisi g o es o

ea s possi le Cotti gto

p ofile

. We could certainly interpret this behavior

as a clear reaction against capitalism. Indeed, art is often shaped by the context in which it is
born. According to Mark Antliff in Cubism in the shadow of Marx (1998), the politics in
F a e at the ti e pla ed a se ious pa t i defi i g the

o e e t lead

Pi asso: the

collapse of the Bloc de Gauches brought to an end the spirit of collaboration between
classes and of the artistic and intellectual engagement with the politics that had been the
p odu t of the Affai .
The Dreyfus affair, the disillusion of a perfect society were material used by artists of all kind
to express their discontent, distrust and even fear in the early 1900s, but also a fantastic
opportunity to bring together thinkers, painters and writers by positioning themselves for or
against the system, conversing on topics such as colonialism, war, and of course capitalism
again.
This was made possible by an interesting factor, essential to the understanding of the birth
of cubism: the location of these people in city of Paris. Like Sgourev stated, It is widely
believed that cubism could not have been born elsewhere but in Paris . I deed, no other city
featured a comparable century-long history of outstanding artistic activity, a tradition of
intellectual freedom, a number of important museums, and the opportunity for creators to
live cheaply at the edge of society without having their art rejected.
As we saw it in class, the frenzy taking place in Paris at the time touched everything and
everyone: from the city itself constantly evolving under the work of Haussman and his
successors (the new Paris was only achieved in 1927), to the construction of the Eiffel tower
i

a d the g o i g taste fo G a ds Magasi s like Le P i te ps. All these changes

affected the way people lived, from the lower to the bourgeois classes, and was a constant
source of inspiration for artists. This Parisian situation being so unique, many of them
gathered and started working together like Braque and Picasso in order to reconstruct
the o lds ala e. A o di g to Apolli ai e La

issio Un nouveau monde se degage

du chaos des temps (Adams 1999). This belief is perfectly tied to the cubists work. The
world surrounding them is deconstructed, their goal is to capture the moment and the
simultaneity of this exciting time, by celebrating it or making a critic of it, but especially
challenging our vision of what it stands for.
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In La Tour Rouge (1911), Robert Delaunay shared his vision of


modernity by painting the Eiffel tower, witnessing its construction
from his earliest age. The fact that the Tower was supposed to be
dismantled probably convinced him to make this object eternal, and
he created numerous copies of it. However, they never exactly looked
the same. Here, we see it floating, almost weightless when the steel
structure and its height made it the most important and tallest
building in the world at the time. The smoke in the background evokes
the city, the hustle and bustle, but also makes us wonder if this
painting is not simply an illusion as the colors and the shapes collide in our mind. As an
Orphist, Delaunay was promoting total abstraction in his work leaving as much space
possible for us viewers to imagine and interpret what was in front of our eyes. According to
Apollinaire, Orphism was the art of new totalities, something we could translate as the
perfect form of modern art.

Despite the influence of Paris, the incredible networking done between artists and
thinkers at the time that made cubism the first major artistic turn of the 19 th century, some
questions remain if not unanswered, at least in a grey area.
The first one addresses the motivation behind cubism, and its possible reaction against
photography. Though no evidences can be found, the start of movements such as
impressionism closely followed by cubism matches the slow yet steady evolution of
photography and film. The comparison can be pushed a little further too. The Lumires
brothers, who created the first movie ever, made a public screening in Paris in 1895 at the
Salon Indien du Grand Caf. Quickly followed numerous projects and screenings (Georges
Melis Le voyage dans la Lune, 1902, being of the first commercial success), and soon the
film became en vogue. Just as well, they released in 1907 the autochrome, the first easy way
to take colored pictures. And even if the world of photography did not go fully public until
the 1950s, it definitely became part of the Parisian quotidian experience by the end of the
1910s, with commercials on the street and in the newspapers.
If this did not convince or forced the artists to go a different way, it probably inspired some

such as the u ists painters to find a new relevant way to express their creativity, when the
reproduction of the world could now be done in a perfectly scientific way by taking pictures.
A last point could be discussed, a paradox more precisely. It goes back to one of the
central idea of cubism, which is to react and rebel against the norms and conventions
promoted by the art market of the period. If e sa that O phis

a d the e tio dO

ee

not against exposing their work, most artists like Picasso did not express their intention to
gain fame or money and openly rejected the idea of capitalism. However, the system itself
allowed for artists like Picasso, Braque or even Apollinaire to thrive. Firstly, because without
it, the spark of genius that gave birth to cubism would have never existed capitalism being
accountable for all the changes occurring in Paris and the world at the time; then, because
the system protected in some ways cubist artists, by making their lives sustainable. Indeed,
even without exposing their art, the o d sp eadi g that Pi assos o B a ues pai ti gs
were so avant-garde probably interested more than one art lover, willing to purchase their
work. As a e d ote, the i o

is still p ese t o ada s: O the

ost e pe si e Pi assos

paintings ever sold, five are from cubist inspiration, one of which being the most expensive
painting ever sold at an auction1 (N***, Green Leaves And Bust, 1932).
To conclude, Cubism the most important breakthrough in art since the Renaissance
never ceases to fascinate. It even makes us question ourselves more than ever.
Independently from the belief put into their art by the numerous cubists, the impact they
generated on the evolution of art as a whole was unprecedented. More than cutting edge,
cubism symbolized a new way to think, interpret, based on feelings and observation. Deeply
inspired by the city of Paris and its transformation, but also by the synergy made possible by
the convenient reunion of many thinkers, poets and artists in one place, Cubism emerged as
a one-of-a-kind and unique way to express new ideas, critic the capitalist system while
celebrating modernity.

http://most-expensive.com/pablo-picasso-paintings

Bibliography:

Anna Chave (1994) A e e ou te ith les Des oiselles dA ig o : ge de , a e a d the


origins of cubism. The Art bulletin, Volume 76, No. 4.
Christopher Lyon (1989) A sha ed isio , a i t odu tio to Pi asso a d B a ue: pio ee i g
Cu is . MoMa, vol. 2, article 2.
David Cottington (2012)The Formation of the Avant-Garde in Paris and London,
c.18801915. Association of Art Historians
David Cottington (1998) Cubism in the shadow of war: The Avant-Garde and politics in Paris,
c.1904-1914. Yale University Press.
John Golding (1988) Cubism: a History and an analysis. Harvard University Press, 3rd edition.
Mark Antliff, (1999) Cubism in the shadow of Marx. Review articles. Association of Art
Historians.
Stoyan V. Sgourev (2013) How Paris Gave Rise to Cubism (and Picasso): Ambiguity and
Fragmentation in Radical Innovation. Organization Science 24(6):1601-1617.
Tony Robin (2007) The shadow of reality: The 4th dimension in relativity, cubism and the
modern thought. Leonardo Vol. 40. MIT press.
Walter Adams (1999) Apolli ai es politi s: Modernism, nationality in the public sphere in
Avant-Garde Paris. John Hopkins University Press.

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