Museum Report
My first painting is a true Cubist era piece titled L'Estaque done in 1913. It is an oil on canvas
by Raoul Dufy (Le Havre 1877 - Forcalquier 1953)
This painting is found on the main floor of the Museum in the Modern Art exhibit entitled
The Modern Tradition - from Monet to Picasso;
Selected Works from the Museum's Collection.
Dufy was a French painter who was educated at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Like many artists of the era he was fascinated with the works of both Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne. He later worked side by side with Georges Braque in L'Estaque where they both painted Cubist style landscapes. In 1913 in the height of the movement Raoul Dufy had begun to develop his own personal style.
Composition 40 is by Paul-Emile Borduas (Saint-Hilaire 1905 - Paris 1960). It is also oil on canvas and was done in 1958. It was a gift of Renee Borduas given to the Museum of Fine Arts.
The Black Star is also a piece by Paul-Emile Borduas. Oil on cnavas done in 1957, this piece was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Lortie.
Both of the Borduas pieces are found on the lower level of the Museum (S2) in the Marcel Elefant Family Gallery in the Contemporary Art section of the permanent collection. There is quite a number of pieces by Borduas in this room as he was quite an important figure in Canadian Art history.
Borduas apprenticed as a church painter and decorator and later in 1923 he attended the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal. In 1937 Borduas began teaching at l'École du Meuble.
He became involved with the Contemporary Arts Society, and in January 1938 he was elected vice-president of the group. Borduas began painting again, inspired by his work with children who showed him their innate surrealism and automatic writing which brought the name "Automatists" for the group after his painting Automatisme 1.47.
Borduas wrote the manifesto Refus Global (or "Global Refusal") in late 1947- early 1948 which advocated the separation of church and state in Quebec. Borduas was dismissed from l'École du Meuble for his involvement in this social critique as the Catholic Church still had wide influence.
Unable to find work or support himself with his art, Paul-Emile Borduas returned to Paris where he died in 1960 of a heart attack.
Picasso and the Birth of Cubism Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was a prolific Spanish-born artist whose works encompass the many different artistic styles which developed over the century of his life. He is, however, credited with one particular piece of art which is a sort of precursor to the development of the "cubist" style. This painting is the work entitled, "Les Desmoiselles d"Avignon", painted in Paris in 1907. 
It is done primarily in monochromatic browns,tan,gray, and black tones. The painting is about a man with a violin, but it appears as if the subject has exploded and then all the fragments are layered back into the canvas. The geometric shapes are more like a grid on which fragments of the subject are placed or even hidden within, for the viewer to analyze at length, and reconstruct the subject for themselves. The painting is more about the process of art than the subject itself. 
The subject was a depiction of five prostitutes of a Barcelona brothel. The painting is entitled "the young ladies" - a sarcastic description for these ladies of ill repute. The piece was very revolutionary in the world of art because Picasso broke the traditional rules of representational art, especially with regard to the nude body. The painting was moving in the direction of a cubist style, in that the bodies of the women are fragmented and seem to be put back together using multiple perspectives. The bodies appear to have been exploded into different planes and views and them haphazardly reassembled on the canvas. One crouching figure is depicted from the back, with the face looking directly at the viewer. Rather than being sensual, the painting is alarming and brutal in its depiction of these women. The painting evokes a feeling of danger through the use of African masks for the faces of the young ladies. This shows the influence of African art which was becoming known through world expositions. The fruit in the picture is depicted as sharp objects. The melon resembles a sharp curved knife blade. The background of icy blue geometric planes obtrudes into the foreground breaking up any sense of continuity of the subjects and giving the painting a very cold feeling as well. ... so what is "cubist" painting?
Cubism was a bold new distinctive language of art in which the artists were openly rebelling against the representational style of the Renaissance. Cubist Art is NOT about representation of nature and objects. It is about geometric shapes and angles. The use of layering, and fragmentation of the subject is predominant. Cubist paintings are not colouristic; many are very monotone. They do not have a foreground and a background. Rather than looking into the picture, the subject seems to spill out of the frame. An excellent example of Cubist Painting is Man With A Violin by Pablo Picasso. (1911) 
It is done primarily in monochromatic browns,tan,gray, and black tones. The painting is about a man with a violin, but it appears as if the subject has exploded and then all the fragments are layered back into the canvas. The geometric shapes are more like a grid on which fragments of the subject are placed or even hidden within, for the viewer to analyze at length, and reconstruct the subject for themselves. The painting is more about the process of art than the subject itself.
Susan's First Post!
Yesterday we went to the museum!!!!! Our assignment was to find 9 pieces of art which could be classified as cubist. This was a much more challenging feat than we thought it would be. In the end we came away with perhaps five works of art which we felt could be called cubist, and a few 'possibilities'.
These are the pieces of art that we selected:
1. Clouds Above The Sea IV
1942 Oil on Canvas
by Lyonel Feininger
(New York 1871-1956)
2. Edge of the Wood
s
1928 Oil on Canvas
by Lyonel Feininger
(NY 1871-1956)
3. Nude Woman Leaning On A Table
1917 Oil on Canvas
by Jean Metzinger
(Nantes 1883-Paris 1956)
4. Embrace
1971 Oil on Canvas
by Pablo Picasso
(Malaga 1881 - Mougins 1973)
5. L'Estaque
1913 Oil on Canvas
by Raoul Dufy
(Le Havre 1877 - Forcalquier 1953)
6. Babylonian Nun and Priest
1948 Oil on Canvas
by Paul-Emile Borduas
(St Hilaire 1905 - Paris 1960)
\
7. 8.47 or Flowered Quivers 1947 Oil on Canvas by Paul-Emile Borduas (St Hilaire 1905 - Paris 1960)
8. The Blac
k Star
1957 Oil on Canvas
by Paul-Emile Borduas
(St Hilaire 1905 - Paris 1960)
... so what is this genre of art that we call "cubist"?
These are the pieces of art that we selected:
1. Clouds Above The Sea IV1942 Oil on Canvas
by Lyonel Feininger
(New York 1871-1956)
2. Edge of the Wood
s1928 Oil on Canvas
by Lyonel Feininger
(NY 1871-1956)
3. Nude Woman Leaning On A Table
1917 Oil on Canvas
by Jean Metzinger
(Nantes 1883-Paris 1956)
4. Embrace1971 Oil on Canvas
by Pablo Picasso
(Malaga 1881 - Mougins 1973)
5. L'Estaque1913 Oil on Canvas
by Raoul Dufy
(Le Havre 1877 - Forcalquier 1953)
6. Babylonian Nun and Priest1948 Oil on Canvas
by Paul-Emile Borduas
(St Hilaire 1905 - Paris 1960)
\
7. 8.47 or Flowered Quivers 1947 Oil on Canvas by Paul-Emile Borduas (St Hilaire 1905 - Paris 1960)8. The Blac
k Star1957 Oil on Canvas
by Paul-Emile Borduas
(St Hilaire 1905 - Paris 1960)
... so what is this genre of art that we call "cubist"?
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