African art affected the style and subject matter of the Cubist art movement Essay Example For Students

African art affected the style and subject matter of the Cubist art movement Essay The aim of this art history essay is to discuss the ways in which primitive, African art affected the style and subject matter of the cubist art movement. Cubism is considered as art of abstraction which makes reference to the visible world but doesnt copy it. It depicts real forms in a simplified way keeping only an allusion of the original natural subject. Cubism originated from Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in 1907. Their style was heavily influenced by post impressionist artist Paul Cezanne, whos later work starts to depict the multiple perspectives that defined the cubist period. The cubists felt that the traditions of western art in which subject-matter and style had been depicted had been unchanged since the renaissance and they believed a new challenge was needed to revitalise the conventional methods set by the academy. Most of the cubists were attracted by the anarchist philosophy, and they wanted to create art that would shock the academy, critics and public. About this time Paul Gauguin had travelled to Tahiti were he painted the natives and their natural surroundings, this in itself was revolutionary as no other western artist had explored to such a depth geographically or artistically. Primitive art was not greatly known outside the African continent but other artists were also beginning to notice these cultural differences. So with the new perception on painting from multiple viewpoints and the opportunities of new cultural experiences, the cubists became extremely enthusiastic about re-inventing 20th century art. 1(Georges Braque recalled that negro masks opened a new horizon for me. They made it possible for me to make contact with instinctive things, with uninhibited feeling that went against the false tradition which I hated). The simplified shapes and lack of concern with realist depiction of the sculptures attracted them to including and incorporating this style into their own work. The sculptures and the masks of the primitive have a lot of religious meaning to the native people; the westerners were not however, interested in the religious symbolism of these cultural artefacts. 2(Apollinaire remarked: in negro sculpture, no account is taken of the supernatural character with which it is endowed by the artists, who have created it and the faithful who worship it) Westerners viewed Africa as the symbol of savagery. The cubists, however, saw this as a refreshing source but merely valued their expressive style and abstract forms. 3(His interpretation of African art, in these mask-like faces, was based on this idea of African savagery; his brush-strokes are hacking, impetuous, and violent). Picasso was able to convey his personal feelings and views about the primitive culture through his dramatic art work. Maurice Vlaminck sold an African mask to Derain who, in turn, introduced it to Picasso. 4(Derain was speechless and stunned when he saw it Picasso and Matisse, who were also greatly affected by it.) This was the first time Picasso had seen such unusual art. He later went to an exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum of the Trocadero in Paris, which intrigued him further. The 19th century Fang sculpture (below) is similar to what Picasso saw just before he painted Les Demoiselles D Avignon in 1907. It is notably Picassos first art works to be influenced by primitive art. Perhaps being the most revolutionary painting of the 20th century by breaking with traditions of the past. It is considered the birth of cubism. Outline1 Picasso, Les Demoiselles D Avignon, 1907.2 Picasso, Head of Woman, 19073 Picasso, Nude with raised arms, 19074 Georges Braque, Large Nude, 19085 Picasso, Glass and Bottle of Suze, 1912 and Georges Braque, Violin and Pipe, 1913 Humanism and Its Relation to the Art of Governing EssayTheir style at this time is known as analytic cubism which developed between 1908 and 1912. The artists would reduced natural forms into basic geometric shapes; focusing on certain shapes to represent the natural world. 7(Cezanne wanted to treat nature by the cylinder, the sphere, the cone a tree trunk may be conceived of as a cylinder, a human head a sphere, for example). The cubists developed this theory further. Analytic cubism was an analysis of the subject viewed with many different light sources and use of space. Synthetic Cubism developed later between 1912 and 1919; paper collage was used for the first time. Newspaper clippings, wallpaper, fabric, sand and sawdust were a common addition i n this style of cubism; they wanted to incorporate the real world into the canvas. There was also the introduction of brighter colours and the shapes composed were of fewer and simpler forms. Primitive art really only assisted in to the development of analytic cubism, the artists had moved on to synthetic cubism and began to create art that viewed concerns with the everyday chaos of the modern world. Picasso, Glass and Bottle of Suze, 1912 and Georges Braque, Violin and Pipe, 1913 These are both examples of synthetic cubism; they do in fact look very comparable. Picasso and Braque often found it hard to distinguish the differences between their own works. The colours still seem fairly neutral with a hint of brighter colours but there is a distinct lack of primitive influence. So in conclusion, the cubists aim was to create a new approach to Western art, primitive art was used because they felt that it helped them in achieving this aim, They provided a radical alternative to the traditional Western conventions. It is clear to see how primitive art influenced and ultimately inspired the cubist artists. Pablo Picasso, notably, being the first to make visual reference to the stylistic and simplistic qualities of African art in his own work. Georges Braque, on the other hand, didnt use the African art so obviously; he preferred to paint landscapes and still life. He did however, take on board, the natural colours and stuck to a narrow colour spectrum. Cubist artists only really used elements of primitive art mainly when it suited their own needs. Therefore, primitive art, though not the only source of inspiration, nevertheless had a vital influence on the foundations of cubism.