Georges Barque

Georges Braque was a French painter born on May 13, 1882, in Argenteuil-sur-Seine, near Paris. He grew up there and in the city of Le Havre where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He began developing his painting skills while working for his father as a house decorator. By 1900 he moved to Paris to purse the study of painting as fine art. In his early works Braques' style was early impressionism. It wasn't until a few years later when he was influenced in the works of well known artists such as Matisse, Derain, Cezanne, and exspecially Picasso. Braque meeting Picasso was only the beginning of a huge turning point in his artistic development. Both Picasso and Braque began to work closely together. The two of them began to develop a similar approach in painting and invented analytic cubism. Cubism is a style known for geometric shapes that are seen thorough multiple viewpoints. Both artists produced paintings of neutralized colors and complex patterns. They worked so closely together that many pieces of their work look almost identical. In many instances only experts can distinguish Braque's paintings from Picasso's. Later, they both began to experiment with collage. Collage is a technique of constructing images from everyday life materials such as newspapers, labels, and pieces of fabric.

In 1914, Braque enlisted in the French army. During World War I he had gotten severely wounded in the head and was discharged from the army. He went back home to Paris to resume his artistic career alone in 1917. After the war, Braque renewed his inspiration and his style became more personal and realistic. This was the second phase of what is known as synthetic cubism. He now painted with brilliant color and textured surfaces with his subjects more recognizable. Still lifes where soon among many of his paintings.

Georges Braque continued to paint throughout his life, producing an extreme amount of paintings, graphics, and sculptures. During his last few years, his health began to deteriorate preventing him from undertaking any large-scale projects. He still continued to paint, make lithographs, and design jewelry. Braque then died on August 31, 1963, in Paris.

Braque's paintings were unique and extraordinary. He learned and created many techniques over his lifetime. Some of his paintings are truly exceptional. For example,

one of his well-known paintings is named, "Large Nude," which was done in 1908 on an oil canvas. This paintings color theme is of pinks, buffs, and grays. This picture is of a nude woman whom seems to be standing by an area of rocks. If it wasn't for the bun or knot in the woman's hair, I would have honestly thought it was a male, not a female. This woman in the painting definitely has a masculine figure. The body