Georges Braque

George Braque was born in Argenteuil in 1882. In 1900 he moved to Parigi to attend École des Beaux Arts. His first creations were impresionist landscpes but from 1904 he was influenced by Henri Matisse and Fauve. In 1907 he met the painting of Cézanne and it was so important for his production. The interest for primitive art and geometry guided him to Cubism. He is considered the most important representative of this movement with his friend Pablo Picasso.

Both in the first phase (Analytic Cubism, 1908-1911) and in the second (Synthetic Cubism, 1912-1914) he painted overall still lives. Newer techniques, stylistic experimentations and the insertion of inusual elements (numbers, letters, the use of the collage and the papier collé) affirm the freedom in composition and expression of the artist. All these changes influence all future avantgardes. After the First World War, he personalized his style with more brilliant hues and more and more attention for simultaneous perspective and fragmentation.

From 1940 his paintings were charaterized by strong meanings, representing the free flight of birds and the depth of the sea. He realized also many sculptures in bronze and graphics. Georges Braques died in 1963 in Paris. He is considered, with Picasso, the most representative Cubist artist. His painting was essential for the developments of abstract art.