Art Essay - Georges Braque.

solo show was at the Daniel - Henri Kahnweiler’s Gallery in 1908 exhibiting some of

his early Cubist paintings. From 1909 he and Picasso worked closely together and developing Cubism. A new style of painting which presented a new reality in paintings, emphasising the structure of an object by combining lines, planes and geometrical shapes to represent several viewpoints of an object simultaneously. By 1911 their work was somewhat comparable. In 1912 they started to include collage elements into their paintings and experimented with the papier collé (pasted paper) method. Their close artistic relationship lasted until the start of the First World War when Braque was called up to serve in the French army, however he was severely wounded in the head in 1915 and following a long period of recovery was discharged as permanently unfit in 1916. He returned to Paris and resumed painting. After the First World War his work became freer and less uniform. It was in the early 20’s that Georges Braque started to be recognised as a result of an exhibition of his work at the Salon d’Automne in Paris. He also designed the décor for two Serdei Diaghilev ballets and by the end of the 20’s Braque had returned to a more realistic interpretation of nature although it was evident that aspects of Cubism remained present in his work. In 1931 he made his first engraved plasters and began to portray mythological subjects. In 1937 he won first prize at the Carnegie International Pittsburgh. During the Second World War he remained in Paris and his paintings at this time were mainly still lifes and interiors but were more dismal. Braque did not just paint he also made lithographs (a method of printing, where an image is transferred to a plate photographically. Invented in the late eighteenth century), engravings and sculptures. In the late 40’s he treated various recurring themes such as birds, ateliers, landscapes and seascapes and in 1954 he designed stained glass window for the church of Varengeville. During the last few years of his life his health deteriorated preventing him from undertaking large-scale commissions, however he continued to paint, make lithographs and design jewellery. Braque died in Paris on 31st August 1963.