Megan Meighan

Presentation

Introduction

Principles established by the École des Beaux Arts in the seventeenth century created the foundation for which art was to abide by (Arnason 13). In the early twentieth century an innovative art movement arose. Risky and challenging, Cubism was created by Georges Braque from France and Pablo Picasso from Spain during the years 1907-1914 in Paris. Cubism, as a result deliberately rejected the classical methods of art developed within the Academy, in order to create art based on modern interpretations. According to art critic Olivier Hourcade “Cubism, was an intellectual art, idealist rather than trivially realist, which evoked the enduring interplay between the human mind and the world (Cox 173).”

Pablo Picasso Georges Braque

 

 

Cubism

Cubism was the advancement in art during the early 20 th century, a time when the world was experiencing modernization in technology and medicine; and societies were rapidly growing and developing as well. Art historian John Golding stated that Cubism “was the greatest artistic revolution since the Italian Renaissance” (Cox 12). The Renaissance developed the idea of perspective in art, making it possible that one could create depth on a two dimensional plane by creating an illusion. Cubism did not adhere to this idea; it created a new translation of an image on a canvas, instead of building on what had been created in the past and was now old. This idea was shunned by the academies because it was the Academy that had created the concepts which Cubism opposed.

Friedrich Nietzsche Sigmund Freud

Not only was Cubism a new style of art as a result of the twentieth century cultural advancements, but it also expressed the new awareness and exploration of the psyche. The philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche of the twentieth century argued that art had always been a representation of scientific ‘truth' which dared the public to see the other aspects of reality, perhaps the less glamorous and the insane (Cox 22). Sigmund Freud, another twentieth century philosopher related the distorted element of Cubism to that of the unconscious (Cox 23). Freud and Nietzsche pointed out how the mind has abilities far beyond what had been known up to the twentieth century and is very powerful. They brought to awareness that the mind can distort reality naturally through the unconsciousness; this can be achieved through dreams and insanity. Ultimately, Cubism is an interpretation of the mind, and in many cases what is portrayed on a canvas can be argued to be an expression inspired by nature. In 1908 six of Braque's works were denied for exhibition at the Salon d'Automne (Cox 432). It was after the 1911 Salon des Independants, the first Cubist exhibition when Cubism became an issue of public debate (Cox 433).

 

 

Primitive cubism was the original style of this new art movement during 1907-1908. Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon of 1907 truly introduced Cubism as a modern art movement and proved to reject any and all principles established in the Academy.

Pablo Picasso. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

 

 

Analytical cubism was the next phase which was during 1908-1912. Its main purpose was to create in the purist of form through the use of geometric shapes and straight lines. The use of overlapping objects was a common characteristic of this style, as well as the use of a monochromatic pallet of muted colors. This style is represented here in Picasso's, Ma Jolie.

Pablo Picasso. Ma Jolie, 1911-1912.
Museum of Modern Art, NY

 

 

Synthetic cubism was the third period which dated from 1912 through the 1920's. It was evident in these works that the use of a softer line had replaced the severity seen in the previouse cubist years. The objects became more recognizable to the viewer as well. The issue of time was being discovered as a result of multiple angles and views being depicted within the same composition. Collages were being invented through the use of a combination of materials. Papier colle, news paper and metal with texture as well as numerous other mediums were introduced in the creation of synthetic cubist works and often times they were applied directly onto the surface of these works. Bright colors were re-introduced during this period as well.

Pablo Picasso. The Three Musicians, 1921.

 

 

 

Academic Art

Developed in Europe in the seventeenth century, the academic institutions trained young artists in artistic achievement by studying and copying creations of the old Masters. The Academy based their idea of art on traditional classical ideas and guidelines which had been created over the course of artistic history. The use of perspective, line, and nature, were some combined elements in the art, which was depicted in a realistic manner through the soft and careful application of paint to the canvas. Academic art was depicted through realistic techniques, obtaining the most idealistic and desirable scene. Characteristics were often altered to fit this idea and at times resulted in fantasy like works of art. Recreating nature through a painting was not the primary objective. Academic artists strived to create illusions based on nature, used as a guide and inspiration. Created by the old Masters were the principles of art and if they were neglected the work would not have been accepted by the Academy. During the rapid modernization of the twentieth century, Academic art began to be left in the shadows of modern art.

“The academies that were established throughout Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries sought both to regulate and advance the professional practice of art, and to act as training institutions for young artists (Arnason 13).”

Students painting "from the live" at the École
Photographed late 1800s

 

Birth of Venus, Alexandre Cabanel. 1863.

 

 

Picasso, Cubism, and Reflexivity

Edward Fry's article focuses on how Cubism is directly related to modernism, and in so many words is modernism in terms of art. Fry emphasizes the importance of one completely understanding the meaning of modernism in order to comprehend twentieth century art as a whole. Cubism does not adhere to the principles created by artistic tradition; instead Cubism has created a modern approach in the creation of art through the rejection of three-dimensionality by creating works based on flatness (Fry 296). Cubism is an expression of the mind's relationship with the external world. This means a direct analysis of the psyche, the process of vision, as well as the relationship one's unconscious has based on one's personal experiences. This relates to Nietzsche and Freud's views of Cubism supporting what the mind is capable of creating, outside of one's control. Fry suggests that Cubism represents the process which the mind undergoes in order to have created classical art from the past, what he refers to as 'reflexive'. Therefore Cubism is not completely ignoring the incredible genius behind the history of art (Fry 296). Picasso's Cubist art is the first aesthetic representation to accurately convey the process of reflexivity of the human mind. Modern advances were taking place in all aspects of society during the twentieth century, and this new art form had become an important element because it illustrated these advances prior to them being put into words. Modern iconography began to play a role in Cubist art; for example, Picasso often used a guitar to represent the female anatomy, the un-idealistic subject matter of his sexual desires. “Picasso's favored metaphor for woman, a Guitar, with its sound hole or “trou” as her conspicuously available genitals (Fry 302).” Picasso found a fondness for the use of African tribal artifact elements, which he depicted throughout numerous works (Fry 297). Another issue Fry raised was the use of time and the fourth dimension in the creation of Cubist art. “Cubists incorporated in their works the results of observations made over a period of time, and thus that when we see a figure or an object in a Cubist painting we are somehow shown all sides of it at once (Fry 299).” An example of this is Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, referring specifically to the two figures along the right side of the canvas and seated in the lower right hand corner, which are depicted wearing African masks. The seated figure is positioned with her back to the viewer, but her head is completely turned around to face the viewer head on, reminiscent of the rest of the figures heads, but from another observation it is obvious that the noses of the figures have been rendered in profile. Fry proves the importance of the Cubist Movement in the history of art, its challenges to artistic tradition, as well as its expression of the reflexive mind.

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Towards a Definition of Academic Art

Carl Goldstein writes on the significance of Academic art and how up until just a few years ago it had been disregarded and cast into the shadows of art history. Academic art has been a topic void of interpretation in the history of art today. Goldstein raises many questions as to what Academic art is, and explores the answers throughout the article. The first step was defining the academies back to Vasari's in 1563 (Goldstein 102), although the issue of Cubism verses Academic art is based primarily on the Academies of the seventeenth century. The Academies main subject matter to be depicted within a composition was to be derived from nature, for the Academy created illusions based on nature. But as a result of commitment by the students to studying works of the old masters in art, they had learned how to create and perfect an ideal interpretation of their subject. Dusk, (The Return of Spring) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau which was completed in 1863 is an example of Academic excellence. One is able to see from his work the naturalistic features of the delicately rendered female body; obvious attention has been spent creating this flawless and tasteful illusion of reality. Bouguereau had the ability to create these idealized images as a result of his repetitive studies and artistic training received within the Academy. It is obvious that nature has its flaws, but these are never evident in an Academic painting because they had been “corrected” as a result of the intensive training the artists had undergone (Goldstein 103). The chosen subject is the most important aspect of Academic art after one has mastered the ability to perfect nature. To conclude the Academies guidelines to art, special attention must be given to the dress of the characters and surroundings of the subject in order to make for a convincing and accurate composition; this is where it is up to the artist's imagination to create the ideal portrayal of the desired scene, based on their training within the Academy.

Dusk, (The Return of Spring)
William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1863

 

 

Conclusion

Cubism was an art form created through a modernized approach to expression of the mind's interpretation of the natural world. Some say Cubist art is an art form based on art, in opposition to what the Academies practiced, which was an art form based on life. Therefore, it was rejected by the Academy. Although Cubism did not fall into the category of the Academies suppressed ideals, it certainly proved to be monumental in the history of art though its new interpretation of the external world.