Georges Braque

Georges Braque, 1908, photograph published in Gelett Burgess, The Wild Men of Paris, Architectural Record, May 1910

Georges Braque (13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor. His most important contributions to the history of art were in his role as a co-founder of Cubism alongside Pablo Picasso, with whom he developed a host of techniques that deeply influenced the modern art movement. Braque's work between 1908 and 1912 is closely associated with that of his colleague Picasso, yet his role as a pioneer of Cubism is sometimes underappreciated.

Early Life

Georges Braque was born in Argenteuil, Val-d'Oise. He grew up in Le Havre and trained to be a house painter and decorator like his father and grandfather. However, he also studied serious painting in the evenings at the École des Beaux-Arts from about 1897 to 1899. He moved to Paris for further study, attending the Académie Humbert, where he met Marie Laurencin and Francis Picabia.

Career

Braque's early work was impressionistic, but after seeing the work exhibited by the Fauvist movement in 1905, he adopted a Fauvist style. The Fauves, a group that included artists such as Henri Matisse and André Derain, were known for their use of bold, non-naturalistic colors and brushwork. However, by 1907, Braque's interest had shifted towards the geometric forms and the reduction of objects into basic shapes, influenced by the works of Paul Cézanne.

This shift in interest marked the beginning of his association with Picasso and the development of Cubism. From 1909 to 1914, Braque and Picasso worked closely together to develop Cubism, a style of art in which objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form, emphasizing their composite geometric shapes and depicting them from multiple, simultaneous viewpoints.

During World War I, Braque served in the French Army. He was severely injured in 1915, which temporarily interrupted his painting. After the war, he diverged from the harsher abstraction of Cubism and developed a more personal style, characterized by brilliant colors and textured surfaces. In the 1920s, he also began to work on still lifes and interiors that are remarkable for their serene and harmonious quality.

Later Years and Death

In his later years, Braque continued to paint, sculpt, and make lithographs. He was awarded the Grand Prix for Painting at the Venice Biennale in 1956. Georges Braque died on 31 August 1963, in Paris. His legacy includes not only his contributions to Cubism but also his explorations in various media, including the invention of papier collé (a form of collage), which had a lasting impact on the development of modern art.

Legacy

Georges Braque's work is in many major museum collections around the world. His contributions to Cubism have been recognized as equally significant as those of Picasso. Braque's exploration of geometric forms and his experimental approach to visual perception have influenced a wide range of movements and artists in modern and contemporary art.