Picasso and Braque
Synthetic Cubism
1912 – 1920s
To synthesize means to integrate
two or more pre-existing elements
which results in a new creation.
Purpose: To Depict a Vision of
Modern Urban Life
• by bringing together familiar scraps and unfamiliar
forms in order to give shape to a particular sense of
urban life on the eve of WWI
• by exploring the individual experiences associated with
public spaces and urban recreation
• by using the language of publicity and commerce in an
ambiguous manner to suggest a multiplicity of
contradictory meanings, especially through puns
• by capturing the new sense of simultaneity of diverse
experiences-the fusion of objects, people, machines,
noises, light, smells, etc.
Pablo Picasso before The
Aficionado (summer-autumn
1912).
Pablo Picasso. Man with a
Violin (spring 1912).
Oil on canvas.
Place Saint-André-des-Arts,
Paris (1903-04).
The photographer Eugène Atget
captures the excitement and
apparent randomness of the
information environment of the
modern city.
Paris street, 1906.
Eugène Atget. Paris Street (1925).
Posted wall, Dijon, 1901
Morris columns, Paris (1910).
Newstand, Paris, before 1914
Pablo Picasso. Violin,
Wineglasses, Pipe, and
Anchor (May 1912).
Oil on canvas.
Representation of Representation
Pablo Picasso. Still Life with Chair Caning (May 1912).
Collage of oil, oilcloth, and pasted paper on canvas.
Collage
Noun from the French verb
coller: to glue
Characteristics
• A new relationship is enacted between
“low” culture (mass culture) and “high”
culture (professional art).
• This relationship is felt to be
inappropriate, jarring, or wrong—yet
interestingly so.
• The end result is irreverence, paradox,
and perplexity.
Pablo Picasso. Still Life with Chair Caning (May 1912).
Collage of oil, oilcloth, and pasted paper on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. The Scallop Shell “Notre Avenir
est dans l’air” (May 1912). Oil on canvas.
Cover of Nôtre Avenir est dans l’air, a brochure imploring
France to improve its aviation. Braque and Picasso were
using the slogan ironically, as to imply that France’s future
was “in the air”.
Georges Braque. The Clarinet
(spring-late summer 1912).
Oil on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. The Poet
(August 1911).
Oil on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. The Poet (summer
1912). Oil on canvas.
This fan sits in front of a
Spanish guitar and clutches a
banderilla. His refined tastes
are presented through his stiff
collar, top hat, and the newspaper
Le Torero, as well as by the
bottle of manzanilla sherry to his
left.
Pablo Picasso. The Aficionado
(summer 1912). Oil on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. Maquette
for Guitar (October 1912).
Construction of cardboard,
string, and wire (restored).
Pablo Picasso. Guitar and Sheet Music (OctoberNovember 1912). Pasted paper, pastel, and charcoal.
Le Journal, November 18, 1912, p. 1
Pablo Picasso. Guitar, Sheet
Music, and Glass (after
November 18, 1912). Pasted
paper, gouache, and charcoal.
This collage evokes a café, with its
cheap wallpaper and humble
guitar, where people would go to
listen to music, read newspapers,
and discuss the news of the day.
Pablo Picasso. Guitar, Sheet
Music, and Glass (after
November 18, 1912). Pasted
paper, gouache, and charcoal.
The subject evoked in the collage
is the debating of political issues
with friends in a public place.
Pablo Picasso. Glass and
Bottle of Suze (after
November 18, 1912).
Pasted paper, gouache,
and charcoal.
Pablo Picasso. Guitars
(spring 1913). Ink.
Pablo Picasso. Guitar
(December 3, 1912).
Paper construction.
Pablo Picasso. Guitar (winter
1912-13). Construction of sheet
metal, string, and wire.
Pablo Picasso. Bowl with
Fruit, Violin, and Wineglass
(after December 2, 1912;
completed after January 21,
1913). Pasted paper, watercolor, chalk, oil, and charcoal
on cardboard.
Pablo Picasso. Gas Jet and
Guitar (winter 1912-13).
Gouache and charcoal.
Georges Braque. Pedestal Table (early 1913). Oil and charcoal on
canvas.
Pablo Picasso. “Au Bon Marché” (January 25-26, 1913). Oil and
pasted paper on cardboard.
This is a parody of the female’s
dual role as a consumer and as
“goods for sale”. A pasted lid
from the lingerie department of
the store Au Bon Marché
combines with decorative
wallpaper, glass on the right, a
decanter on the left, and an ad
from the department store
Samaritaine. Picasso cuts the ad
to focus on a modern woman, with
her modern hair cut and her
gesture of vanity. A number of
elements cut off from their context
in the newspaper are combined to
suggest her availability: the price
“2.85” and the words above
“Method of Payment”, “Massage”
and “Trou Ici”— meaning “hole
here”.
Construction mounted
in Picasso’s Studio at 5 bis,
rue Scheolcher, early 1913,
including cardboard
maquette for Guitar.
Photographed by the artist.
Construction no longer extant.
Pablo Picasso. Man with a Guitar
(spring 1913). Ripolin (shiny
enamel house paint) on canvas.
Georges Braque. Violin and
Glass (spring 1913). Oil,
charcoal, and pencil on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. Guitar
(after March 31, 1913).
Pasted paper, charcoal,
ink, and chalk.
Pablo Picasso. Bar Table with
Guitar (spring 1913). Chalk,
and pasted and pinned paper.
Pablo Picasso. Head of a Man
With a Moustache (after
May 6, 1913). Charcoal and
ink on newspaper.
Pablo Picasso. Head (MayJune 1913). Pasted paper,
charcoal, and pencil
on cardboard.
Pablo Picasso. Bottle of Vieux Marc, Glass, Guitar,
and Newspaper (spring 1913). Pasted paper and ink.
Georges Braque. Clarinet (summer 1913). Pasted
paper, oil, charcoal, chalk, and pencil on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. Mandolin
and Clarinet (autumn 1913).
Construction of painted
wood with pencil marks.
Georges Braque. Woman with
a Guitar (autumn 1913). Oil
and charcoal on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. Card Player (winter
1913-14). Ripolin paint on canvas.
Georges Braque. Violin and Pipe “Le Quotidien” (after
December 20, 1913). Chalk, charcoal, and pasted paper.
Georges Braque. Glass and Bottle (winter
1913-14). Charcoal and pasted paper.
Georges Braque. Bottle of Eau-de-Vie (early1914).
Oil on canvas.
Georges Braque. Glass, Bottle,
and Newspaper (after January
15, 1914). Pasted paper.
Pablo Picasso. Still Life (early 1914). Construction
of painted wood with upholstery fringe.
Pablo Picasso.
Glass and Dice
(early 1914).
Construction of
painted wood.
Pablo Picasso.
Glass, Newspaper, and Dice
(spring 1914).
Construction of painted
wood and tin.
Pablo Picasso. Glass, Dice and Newspaper
(spring 1914). Construction of painted
wood and tin.
Pablo Picasso. Glass
(spring 1914).
Construction of
painted tin.
Pablo Picasso. Bottle of
Bass, Glass, and Newspaper
(spring 1914). Construction
of painted tin.
Pablo Picasso. Glass of
Absinth (spring 1914).
Painted bronze with
sand and perforated
absinth spoon.
Pablo Picasso. Smoker
(spring 1914). Oil and pasted
paper on canvas.
Georges Braque. Man with
a Guitar (spring 1914). Oil
and sand on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. Man with a Mask,
Playing a Guitar (summer 1914).
Pencil.
Pablo Picasso.
Bearded Man Playing a Guitar
(summer 1914).
Pencil and gouache.
Pablo Picasso. Still Life with Cards, Glasses,
and a Bottle of Rum “Vive la France” (summer
1914). Ripolin paint and sand on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. Green Still Life (summer 1914).
Ripolin paint on canvas.
Pablo Picasso.
Portrait of a Girl
(summer 1914).
Ripolin paint on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. Man with a
Pipe (1915). Ripolin paint
on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. Harlequin
(fall-winter 1915).
Ripolin paint on canvas.
Pablo Picasso. Three Musicians (1921).
Oil on canvas.
Pablo Picasso.
Three Musicians
(1921). Oil on
canvas.