Georges Braque 1906 - 1914: Inventor of Cubism

Before the First World War, Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso revolutionized modern painting with Cubism, developing their style in rapid succession. This catalog showcases sixty works from museums and private collections, contextualizing Braque's career amidst technological advances, new schools of thought, and an acceleration of everyday life in Western Europe. It also explores the connection between dynamization and the development of aesthetic forms in the visual arts, comparing the pre-war period to the flood of media images today.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 19 October 2021
Publisher: Prestel

Before the outbreak of the First World War, a young artist named Georges Braque, alongside his friend Pablo Picasso, embarked on a transformative journey that revolutionized the course of modern painting. This remarkable catalog, curated for an accompanying exhibition, delves into Braque's tumultuous pre-WWI period, unveiling the intricate processes through which he rapidly evolved or reinvented his artistic style. From the vibrant hues of Fauvism to the abstracted forms of Proto-Cubism, Analytical Cubism, papier collé, and Synthetic Cubism, Braque's artistic evolution showcased an extraordinary pace and intensity, mirroring the shift in focus from representation to abstraction in the modern arts.

Spanning a century, this comprehensive book brings together a remarkable collection of sixty works from museums and private collections worldwide. It offers scholarly assessments that contextualize Braque's career amidst unprecedented technological advances, new schools of thought, and an overall acceleration of everyday life in Western Europe. This includes the advent of moving pictures, which held a particular fascination for the young artist. Film stills, documentary footage, and archival material serve as valuable tools, helping readers connect the dots between dynamization and the development of aesthetic forms in the visual arts. By exploring the pre-war period's visual innovations and comparing them to the overwhelming abundance of media images we encounter today, this book provides a profound insight into Braque's remarkable career.

More than half a century after Braque's passing, this exploration of his remarkable journey continues to bring us closer to understanding the artist whom Guillaume Apollinaire hailed as the "touchstone" of Cubist art. Braque's legacy remains a testament to his profound influence on the art world, inspiring generations of artists to push the boundaries of creativity and explore new artistic territories.

Weight: 1588g
Dimension: 332 x 369 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783791379159