Georges Braque

Born: 13 May 1882 31 August 1963 in Argenteuil-sur-Seine, France, the birthplace of Impressionism (much frequented by the Impressionists in the 1870s). Formal education: 1897 1899 studied painting at cole des Beaux-Arts under M Courchet (evening classes) 1900 1901 moved to Paris and apprenticed for master decorater; craftsman diploma attained 1901 1901 called up to military service Lost interest in craftsmanship and wanted to pursue artistic painting (not decorative house painting that he had developed skills for) 1902 - cole des Beaux-Arts in studio of Leon Bonnat for 2 months 1902 - 1904 Acadmie Humbert for higher skills in painting; visited commercial galleries and came to appreciate the Imrpessionists, Monet and Renoir, and and later Cezanne an artist who continued to influence and inspire him for the rest of his life

A French painter Braque was, with Picasso, the founder of Cubism This became one of the most significant and influential movements in art in the West. Braques career was mapped out for him from the start and he learnt the art of house painting and decorating from his father and grandfather. He came to the decision, following his training, that he really wanted to be an artistic painter rather than a decorative painter. The skills he had developed, (e.g. painting wood and marble effects), were to prove critical in his eventual role in making a gargantuan mark on western art. In 1904, following his artistic education at Acadmie Humbert, he worked from his studio, employing models of his own and spent a lot of time at the Louvre. Braques early work was influenced by 'Impressionist' style of painting. In 1905, he saw and was immediately impressed by the work of the Fauves and their use of bright colours. Faurvism (French for wild beasts) was an art movement led by Henri Matisse and was characterised by free brushstrokes,

undulating patterns and vibrant colours. Braque, adopted and suited this art style which distorted reality for a distinct emotional effect.

This changed in 1907 when he rediscovered post-Impressionist techniques of Cezanne through attending exhibitions in Paris. Braque was drawn to the expressive, tonal compositions, bold colours, colour-blocks and Cezannes multiple perspectives. Perhaps, most importantly, this was also the period that Braque met Picasso and their lives became increasingly conjoined (1909-1914) in their joint venture of a turning point in art history - Cubism. Through working closely with Picasso, Braque changed his style dramatically. Both he and Picasso became aware of the geometric nature of the pattern in Cezannes work, which considered form and spatial relationships. This was the beginning of Cubism. By 1910 Picasso and Braque had developed Cubism into an analytical style which captured the visual world in a way which was neither an imitation of life, nor an illusion. Synthetic Cubism started in 1912 when Braque took the lead by making Paper colles (paper collages). Picasso adapted and developed these as well. They made multi-media collages incorporating materials like paper wood. (By this time, they had already become more abstract in their work and Braque had been incorporating drawn labels or letters to his paintings). Collage now had a serious artistic platform. With the advent of WWI, Braque went into service, but suffered a serious head injury which resulted in long recovery process. When he was able to paint again (1917), he became detached from Cubism and his work changed from that moment on.

Georges Braque; Le Grand Nue; (1908) Oil on canvas 139.5 x101 cm. Private collection Alex Maguy, Paris.

Braque painted this as a reaction to Picassos Les Demoiselles DAvignon. Though initially shocked by the potent violence, crude depiction, harsh angles and the brothel theme, he did appreciate the ground breaking way Picasso had approached the painting. There was no perspective or mass; instead of mimicking reality, the subjects were distorted. This was a venture into the hitherto unknown territory of abstracting a piece by fragmenting the subject components into flattened panes of colour. Once Braque had taken time to reflect on Picassos piece, he drew inspiration from it and responded with Le Grand Nue (the Grand Nude). Like Picasso, he chose a large canvas. Unlike Picasso, who made countless sketches of the women in Les Demoiselles DAvignon, Braque worked from memory instead of having models pose for him. Braque also chose, like, (or because of), Picasso, a figure in large scale, distortions, muted colours and broke the background down into angular fragmented planes. Referring to his Grande Nu, Braque offered a fresh perspective on his and Picassos work, I couldnt portray a woman in all her natural loveliness. I

havent the skill. No one has. I must, therefore, create a new sort of beauty, the beauty that appears to me in terms of volume, of line, of mass, of weight, and through that beauty interpret my subjective impression. Nature is a mere pretext for a decorative composition, plus sentiment. It suggests emotion, and I translate that emotion into art. I want to expose the Absolute, and not merely the factitious woman. (Gerhardus and Dietfried, 1977). Whereas Les Demoiselles DAvignon was audaciously harsh in its covert visual violence, (sharp angles, confrontational figural poses. etc.), Le Grande Nue displayed softness in the gentle rhythmic curves along the length of the body. Picasso had tried to explain as much of the squatting figure as possible by distorting, distending and dislocating different parts of the body. Braque approached this with more reasoning and sensitivity. He showed as much of the body as possible it is unnaturally broad for a single viewpoint perspective; the left buttock is shown as if falling in line with the front hip and thigh. It is also highlighted to a lighter shade than parts of the body that would be nearest the viewer. Most of the body nearest, and facing, us is shaded and dark, making it recede into the drapery behind the body. This belies what we would naturally see. The face of the nude is softened with roundness unlike Picassos Les Demoiselles in which the faces show prominent stark lines to mark the features. Although Braques figure has an anonymity about her face there is an ambiguity about her expression. However it is in no way intimidating, harsh or threatening as the figures were in Les Demoiselles. The limited palette is of muted blues and browns, so the prominent lines break up the space with impact making the Cubist approach clearly visible. The subject, unlike Picassos figures, has her back turned to the viewer in a more modest pose; and although the angular forms of Cubism are present, there is a softness and femininity, which seems protective of the female form. The pose with the back turned is defensive, and the figure seems almost to be sheltering among the sweeps of fabric, just as a child is turned towards the mother for protection, while facing and engaging with us. There is a childish playfulness in the pose with the way the leg at the back is bent at the knee, foot raised as if ready to play. The body is indicated as fluid and flowing with the rhythmic marking of the lines that identify it. It is juxtaposed against the angularity within the drapery. The painting is not as abstracted as Picassos work. Roundness of form is suggested in areas with shadowing. Braque shows sensitivity to femininity as the softness of form is allowed to emerge; the warm earthy colours of the figure and background, contrast with the cool blues of drapery. The negative space is intensified by the drama between warm tones of body set against cold blue drapery, which in turn is set against the warmest colours that make up the background. This painting also shows some of the strong influence of Cezannes work; the concentration on form and structure above colour, leaving the viewer unsure of the context surrounding the figure, and viewing from mixed perspectives.

Visual Response

There are so many things about Braque that I have discovered and so much that I affiliate with. I think his use of colour in his paintings is gorgeous, his need to be true to himself (wanting to be an artist instead of a painterdecorator), making important decisions that would have unknown consequences on his life (making changes in his artistic application dependent on what he liked as opposed to commercial decisions), using the resources and skills he had to build on what he was doing I wanted to see if adapting his methods of drawing in large scale using prominent lines would make me look at my FMP in new ways. Perhaps I could incorporate some of what I learnt into the project and bring a new perspective to the project. I started by using A1 sheets and drawing large scale leaves from memory, just as Braque painted the large nude from memory.

However, I found that although I was painting (using a stick dipped in ink), the result was too much like work I had already done for my primary research, albeit that was drawn from observation. I knew I needed to take a radical step away from everything I conventionally knew. I talked to my tutor and she suggested using a different medium to draw on, and not the white standard sized A1s. I got some parcel paper, newspapers, black sugar paper and a very limited palette of coloured paper. I wanted to try to maintain the muted tones Braque had used for his work during the early Cubist years. I then arranged a still life of organic shapes in the form of metal jugs and a bottle. These all had flowing lines and were reminiscent of Braques themes. Braque drew a lot from still life, often using guitars. I started drawing, using a stick with wide stylus type tip. I looked at the composition, and not taking my eyes off it, started drawing. (This was something that is mentioned in the book Drawing from the right side of the brain that my tutor had mentioned. Shed said I could try this book to help my drawing skills as I could not access drawing tuition at university). This was a new venture for me my drawing is usually quite light because I cant press hard. The results were bold drawings for the first time! These lines flowed, and together with the boldness, were becoming Cubist.

Developing this further, I changed the still life to a broken tailors dummy and, this time stuck a block of torn paper on a different background. This time, I observed and drew, but using continuous line as far as I could. I was far happier with the effect of the muted contrast in the background which set off the drawing. This piece has more drama with its diagonal mark making and jagged edges of paper.

I continued along these lines and found the work developed more with each piece.

The piece I am most pleased with is the one where the background is vibrant with dominant black and white contrast. The jugs were each drawn using a different instrument (different sticks and charcoals). Brown paper as the carrier or background gives the effect of painted wood, similar to Braques collage work where he frequently painted wood effects as part of his abstract compositions. The coarse black sugar paper adds a contrast against the

smoothness of the shiny brown parcel paper. I had cut and pasted newspaper on one side of the piece. This, along with the visible brush strokes on the edges gives the effect of crushed fabric. The print is still visible through the paint and this adds segments of grey and white tones dependent on how the brushstrokes were applied in places. The outlines of the still life objects are undulating, curved and angled similar to Braques painting of the body in the Grande Nue. The idea of the drapery contrasting with the background (the lightness of the blue against the warm tones) is achieved as mentioned above. The middle jug shows the contradictory shading of the form, where one of the sides with the handle appears to be nearer the viewer and the pouring side appears to be recessed. This is a falsehood of reality and I feel that I have successfully achieved Braques contradictory shading of the fore leg being in shadow while the left buttock shows highlighting as if it were nearer us. The negative space around the objects is just as important as the objects themselves in both images. There is a visible play with the use of muted tones in Braques picture which make some parts of the image come out while others recede in unnatural ways.

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Nouvelles Images (n.d.) Georges Braque. [WWW] available at http://www.nouvellesimages.com/GeorgesBraque_id~artistes_aut~AUT000298 [accessed 17th March 2013]. Oocities (2009) Le Grande Nu. [WWW] available at http://www.oocities.org/tokyo/temple/9827/GrandNu.html [accessed 17th March 2013]. Richardson, J. (1959) GEORGES BRAQUE. Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd. Rosenblum, R.(1959) Cubism and Twentieth-Century Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Tripod (n.d.) Picasso, Braque and beyond. [online] available at http://heyrube19.tripod.com/PandB.html [Accessed 16th April 2013].