Analytic Cubism & Harlem Renaissance By: Caroline, Sanika, Omar

Analytic Cubism Developed by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso during 1909 to 1910 and lasted until the winter of 1912. Its not abstract art because Picasso and Braque picked apart objects and rearranged its elements. The aesthetics satisfaction of such a work depends on the way chaos seems to resolve itself into order. Braque was inspired by Paul Cezanne, he was a post-impressionist. Analytic cubism gave rise to the later synthetic cubism.

Analytic Cubism: Georges Braque Born a year after Picasso, near Le Havre, France. So, Braque was exposed to Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works. Picasso’s Demoiselles sharpened his interest in altered form and compressed space an emboldened Braque to make his own advances in Cezanne’s late direction. Cezanne was a Post-Impressionist and inspired Braque to reduce nature’s may colors to essential browns and greens. Braque’s early Cubist work helped to point Picasso in a new artistic direction. By the end of 1908 Picasso and Braque began working together.

houses at l’Estaque by Georges Braque 1908, Oil on canvas, Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland. Reveals the emergence of early Cubism. Reduced nature’s colors & eliminated detail to emphasize basic geometric forms. The buildings are arranged in a pyramid and Braque pushed those in the distance closer to the foreground, so the viewer looks up the plane of the canvas more than into it. This painting is indicative of this time period because of the geometric forms, the drift away from normal painting style, and broken up landscape.

Violin and palette by Georges Braque 1909-1910, Oil on canvas, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Gradual elimination of deep space and recognizable subject matter. Still-life items are not arranged in illusionistic depth but are pushed close to the picture plane in shallow space. This painting is characterized under Analytic Cubism because of the way the artist broke objects into parts as if to analyze them. Braque picked apart the objects and rearranged the elements while still leaving the original objects discernable.

Harlem Renaissance New Negro movement which encouraged African Americans to become politically progressive and racially conscious. 1920-1930 Harlem Renaissance was a literary and intellectual flowering that fostered a new black cultural identity, or “spiritual coming of age.” Leader and critic Alain Locke argued that black artists should seek their artistic roots in the traditional arts of Africa. Took place in Harlem between the end of World War I and the middle of the 1930s. Was a cultural center drawing black writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars. Influenced future generations of black writers and other black artists.

Aaron Douglas: Harlem renaissance Born in 1898 and died in 1979, Douglas was originally from Topeka Kansas, but moved to New York City. After moving to NYC, he quickly developed an abstracted style influenced by African art. Graduated with a BFA in fine arts from the University of Nebraska in 1922. Being in New York City, his artistic techniques were greatly impacted by a contemporary, hard-edged aesthetic style. Helped set in motion a new visual language from traditional European art.

Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery through Reconstruction Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery through Reconstruction by Aaron Douglas, 1934 Uses schematic figures, Egyptian reliefs and frescos, concentric circles, silhouettes, similar color schemes, and has a strong sense of African American history and culture. Oil on Canvas Use of light and dark Intended to awaken in African Americans a sense of their place in history. Celebration throughout painting

Idyll of the deep South Idyll of the deep South, Aaron Douglas, 1934 Incorporates political and social messages Depicts people picking cotton Shows reality of life for African Americans Ray of life In upper left hand corner is shown by this light source. Hardship and reality of racism Illustrates the hope held by some black Harlem intellectuals that true equality might be attained through the alternative policies of communism and socialism.