The cubists were interested in the way we look at the world. They noticed how things take on different shapes when we see them from different view points, for that reason cubists in some artworks painted many views of the same object together in one painting. Through this technique Cubists found a new way of capturing the 3D world on a flat artists canvas. In cubism the subject matter was broken up, analysed, and reassembled in an abstracted form. It was made of simplified forms and geometrical shapes broken into panes with open edges, sliding into one another while denying all depth.
In cubism artist used angular shapes such as triangles, polygons, squares, and rectangles. Also artists simplified what they saw and what they were illustrating in geometrical forms and cylindrical forms. The main shapes and forms they used overall were cones, cubes and spheres. They pictured the world as a jigsaw of geometric shapes and combined these together to create their artworks. The colours cubists used varied. Early cubists used mainly greys, browns, greens and yellows, - sombre tones. The sombre tones in the cubist artworks did not last for long. After 1914, cubists started to use brighter colours and hues to depict their artworks. An example of this is Marcel Duchamp’s “Nude Descending a Staircase No 2”, 1912, oil on canvas and Jean Metzinger’s, “The Cat”, 1915, oil on canvas. Marcel Duchamp’s artwork which was created during the earlier period of cubism is made up of sombre tones such as browns, cremes, and yellows, while Jean Metzinger’s artwork which was created during the later period of cubism displays bright hues of green, red, and blue.
Many cubists chose to paint modern subjects, such as engineering, aerodynamics and the architectural features of towns and cities. Others used the new style to show traditional themes in a revolutionary way, for example scenes and images of landscapes which would be more typically impressionistic artworks, were displayed in a cubist style. An example of this is Paul Cezannes’s “Lake at Annecy”, 1896, oil on canvas.
Cubists generally applied uniformly small brushstrokes creating the vibration of light throughout their artworks. However painterly characteristics varied comparing to different artists and paintings. The brushstrokes or textures created throughout the cubist period are not only one kind. The textures and painting techniques, (referring to brushstrokes and texture) were different depending on the subject matter.
Overall cubism was a modern art movement based on the belief that the world was made of cones, spheres, cylinders, and geometric shapes. It was one of the most influential of the first half of the 2oth century, and until today has made some impact on the way some artist s paint, think, and create.
