Cubism was an artistic movement developed in 1907 in France, led by Pablo Picasso, Jean Metzinger, Georges Braque, Albert Gleizes, Juan Gris, Robert Delaunay, María Blanchard and Guillaume Apollinaire.
It was the definitive break with traditional painting, which is why it was disparagingly defined as painting composed of small cubes and geometric figures.
In the case of literature, we have that cubism is a branch of poetry where the structure forms figures or images that exemplify the theme, therefore, rhyme is optional and does not have a specific meter nor is it organized in verses.
According to the phases of the break with traditional painting, we have two types of cubism:
Analytical Cubism
It is one that analyzes and breaks down reality in order to capture it with superimposed geometric elements and with a restricted chromatic range.
It does not represent a visual reality but a reality of knowledge that reconstructs objects as they are known to be and not as they are seen.
synthetic cubism
This second stage is no longer characterized by an analysis of reality but by conceiving painting as a construction of plastic elements plus the inclusion of real elements.
It gives greater importance to the object and seeks to capture it with a certain fidelity, but with richer chromaticism.
According to the arts that influenced we have:
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Cubist architecture
Cubism greatly influenced architecture. This movement was against utilitarian, spiritual, materialist architecture that was not sufficiently theoretical. They thought that architecture should be more poetic, full of drama and expressive.
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Cubist painting
It is the most important artistic expression of the movement. It had its origin in Paris thanks to Pablo Picasso. It was a short movement, but important. It broke the classical norms, the description of nature and depth.
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Cubist sculpture
It has the same aesthetics as pictorial sculpture and shares its objectives, however, cubist sculpture works in three different dimensions. His sculptures are characterized by diverse perspectives, intersection of volumes, new appreciation of materials and the decomposition of forms.
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Cubist literature
The Frenchman Apollinaire adapted cubism to literature. He sought to recompose reality by mixing random images and concepts. One of his main contributions was the calligram.
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Cubist theater
In the 21st century, the playwright, director and actor Rafael Negrete Portillo rescues movement and applies it to theater. He seeks the deconstruction and reconstruction of the communicative link between the spectator and the staging. He seeks that the representation of the dramatic text leaves the co-author and viewer enough freedom to reconstruct the message intended by the playwright.
Characteristics of Cubism
Among the main characteristics of cubism we have:
- It has a multiple perspective in order to represent all the objects in the same plane.
- It begins formally with the painting The Young Ladies of Avignon (Demoiselles D’Avignon) by Pablo Picasso.
- It uses a palette of grays, browns and greens in low light.
- In its early stages, gray and ocher prevailed.
- I was focused on the way of representing things.
- He died in 1919 when the post-war began.
- It was weakened by the First World War.
