Georges Braque

Georges Braque

Georges Braque (May 13, 1882 Ð'- August 31, 1963) was a French painter and sculptor who, with Pablo Picasso, developed cubism and became one of the major figures of twentieth-century art. Georges Braque was born in Argenteuil-sur-Seine, France. He grew up in Le Havre and trained to be a house painter and decorator as his father and grandfather were, but he also studied painting in the evenings at the Ð"‰cole des Beaux-Arts in Le Havre from about 1897 to 1899.Braque's paintings of 1908Ð'-1913 began to evidence his new interest in geometry and simultaneous perspective. He conducted an intense study of the effects of light and perspective and the technical means that painters use to represent these effects, appearing to question the most standard of artistic conventions. Beginning in 1909, Braque began to work closely with Pablo Picasso who had been developing a similar approach to painting. Both artists produced paintings of neutralized color and complex patterns of faceted form, now called Analytic Cubism. In 1912, they began to experiment with collage and papier collÐ"©. Their productive collaboration continued until 1914 when Braque enlisted in the French Army, leaving Paris to fight in the First World War.

Cubism is a style known for geometric shapes that are seen thorough multiple viewpoints. Both artists produced paintings of neutralized colors and complex patterns.

Harbor in Normandy 1909

"Harbor in Normandy," done in 1909 on an oil canvas. If you analyze the painting you will notice that the whole picture is brought to life by his unique angular and shaded brush strokes. It's almost looks as if the boats and lighthouse in the painting are tangible or even toy-like. Braque created an interesting effect with not allowing the eye much room to escape beyond