by Christine Zibas

Created on: February 04, 2009

After Cubism, the world would never look the same again. Although a relatively short period of time and limited number of artists encapsulated the Cubist movement in art history, its impact was huge. Cubism was so revolutionary that it changed the way that both artists and those who love art came to understand what art could encompass.

In the words of Guillaume Apollinaire, Cubism was "the art of painting original arrangements composed of elements taken from conceived, rather than perceived, reality." ("The Beginnings of Cubism," 1912) No longer did perceived reality (what the artist saw) dictate what art should look like; instead, it was built on what the artist could imagine. In Cubism, every aspect and every side of an entire subject could be seen simultaneously, all in a single dimension.

CUBISM'S FOUNDERS
Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is famed for his artistic genius, but he began as a painter living in a country (Spain) at the turn of the century that he found to be too provincial. His vision was too large for his environment, and his acclaim ultimately emanated from his sheer capacity for invention. He began with Blue and Rose periods of painting, which reflected his feeling of melancholy and restriction.

By the time he painted the controversial "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" (1909), Picasso had already moved to France and found a community of like-minded artists. One of Picasso's most prolific period came in 1908-1912, launched by this unusual painting. At first, Picasso was afraid to show his friends this work, a painting that fundamentally changed cognitive reality. Named after a notorious place of prostitution, the painting was the first work to show multiple sides of a group of women all at one time (a theme he would continue to explore for years).

Few artists understood what Picasso was trying to do, not only in trying to show a different way of understanding reality, but also in incorporating Primativism (that is, works of folk art emanating from non-Western parts of the world). The reflection of African masks can be seen clearly in the face of one of the women in this unusual and beautiful painting. One painter who understood perfectly what Picasso was trying to do was French painter Georges Braque (1882-1963). Together they would explore this new artistic vision, working side by side.

ANALYTIC AND SYNTHETIC CUBISM
Cubism is typically characterized by its two phases. The first, Analytic Cubism, began with a breakdown of subjects that Picasso

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