Page 73 - International Iconic July 2024

GE O R GE S
BRAQUE

monumental figure in 20th-century art, Georges Braque significantly to the movement’s growing popularity. He continued
is celebrated for his role in developing Cubism alongside to develop this style until 1914, collaborating closely with Picasso. In
A Pablo Picasso. Born in 1882 in Argenteuil-sur-Seine, near 1912, the two artists introduced “papier collé” (pasted paper) and
Paris, Braque moved with his family to Le Havre in 1890. There, he collage into their work, further expanding Cubism’s boundaries.
initially pursued a path as a house painter and decorator, following World War I interrupted Braque’s career. He enlisted in the
in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps. However, Braque’s French Army in 1914 and suffered a severe head injury. Upon
passion for fine art led him to take evening classes at Le Havre’s returning to his studio in 1917, his art evolved, displaying freer
École des Beaux-Arts. forms and brighter colours while retaining elements of Cubism.
In 1900, Braque moved to Paris to work as an apprentice The early 1930s saw Braque move to the Normandy coast, where
decorator. By 1902, he had earned a certificate in draftsmanship his art began to reflect the local seascapes.
and decided to devote himself entirely to fine art. He enrolled at The late 1930s and early 1940s introduced a melancholic
the Académie Humbert in Paris, studying there from 1902 to 1904. phase in Braque’s work, but the 1950s marked a resurgence of his
Initially influenced by the Impressionists, Braque’s style underwent vibrant colours.
a significant transformation after he encountered the works of the Beyond painting, Braque’s diverse artistic output included
Fauves, including Henri Matisse and André Derain, in 1905. This lithographs, sculptures, illustrations, jewellery, and decorative art.
exposure led him to adopt a bolder, more vivid approach. He designed stage decor for Sergei Diaghilev ballets in the 1920s
Braque’s career took a decisive turn in 1907, a pivotal year and contributed to various significant projects, such as the ceiling

“The still life is a tactile, even manual space in contrast to

the space of the landscape, which is a visual space.”

marked by two major events. He attended a memorial exhibition of the Etruscan Room at the Louvre and stained glass windows
for Paul Cézanne at the Salon d’Automne in Paris, where he was for the Varengeville church. The still-life was a central theme in
deeply inspired by Cézanne’s manipulation of spatial relationships Braque’s artistic vision, appearing in various forms throughout
and geometric forms. Concurrently, Braque met Pablo Picasso, his career, from his early Cubist works to the large-scale oils of
who was experimenting with similar artistic concepts. This meeting the 1940s and 1950s. His flower paintings from the late 1940s are
sparked a collaboration that would revolutionise modern art. among the most lavish and well-developed in his body of work,
The year 1907 also saw the creation of Picasso’s reflecting the influence of the French still-life tradition of Jean-
groundbreaking work “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” which, like Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, the innovations of Paul Cézanne, and his
Cézanne’s work, challenged traditional perspectives and utilised own lifelong exploration of depicting objects in space.
geometric shapes. Together, Braque and Picasso pioneered In 1946, visitors to Braque’s house and studio in Varengeville,
Cubism, an art movement characterised by fragmented, geometric Normandy, noted it was filled with flowers, especially sunflowers.
representations of subjects. The term “Cubism” was coined by Although his initial paintings of these subjects were created in
art critic Louis Vauxcelles in 1908 after he remarked that Braque’s Paris, it was upon his return to Normandy after the Liberation of
work reduced everything to “geometric schemas and cubes.” Paris that Braque revisited the theme with renewed energy. He
Braque’s first solo exhibition in 1908 at the Daniel-Henri experimented with an increasingly acidic and vibrant palette and
Kahnweiler Gallery showcased his Cubist style, contributing an abstract approach to the subject.