Georges Braque , 1882-1963, Parisian artist, Braque was a pioneering French painter, sculptor, and collagist, best known for his foundational role in the development of Cubism. He and Pablo Picasso worked together intensely from 1908 to 1914, creating a revolutionary new style that fragmented objects into geometric shapes and depicted them from multiple perspectives. Braque's unique contributions to Cubism include the invention of papier collé, a type of collage using pasted paper. He also played a key role in the transition from Analytical Cubism (fractured, monochrome compositions) to the more colorful Synthetic Cubism after his service in World War I. His later work, characterized by its serene still lifes and bird motifs, cemented his legacy as a master of modern art.
Georges Braque, Houses at Estaque, 1908
Braque, Path at Estaque, 1908
Braque, Cinq bananes et deux poires, 1908
Braque, La Quarium, 1951
Braque, Figure Double, 1914
Wassily Kandinsky, 1866-1944, Moscow, In his paintings and writings, Kandinsky expressed the belief that painting could be a form of visual music. This musical analogy led the artist to categorize his works as Impressions, Improvisations, or Compositions, depending on the degree of spontaneity or formalization. This Improvisation is built on subtle color harmonies applied with an agility that derives from Kandinsky’s rich experience working in watercolor.
Kandinsky, Black and Violet, 1923
Kandinsky, Upward, 1929
Kandinsky, Improvisation 29, The Swan, 1012
Paul Klee, 1879-1940, German Artist, known for his uniquely abstract and individual style, characterized by the whimsical yet sophisticated use of geometric shapes, vibrant colors, and symbolic elements that blended Cubism, Expressionism, and Surrealism. A talented musician and violinist who also taught at the Bauhaus school, Klee created thousands of works that combined his interests in music, nature, and the human subconscious, producing fantastical and childlike compositions that were deeply meditative and highly influential.
Paul Klee, Cat and Bird, 1928
Paul Klee, Error on Green, 1949
Paul Klee, A young ladies adventure, 1922
Paul Klee, Senecio, 1922
Paul Klee, A strong dream
Paul Klee, Ghost of A Genius, 1922
Klee, Mask of Fear, 1932
Klee, Angelus Novus, 1920
Klee, Der Narr,1927
Francis Picabia, 1879-1953 French artist. was central to the Dada movement when it began to emerge in Paris in the early 1920s, and his work quickly abandoned many of the technical concerns that had animated his previous work. He began to use text in his pictures and collages and to create more explicitly scandalous images attacking conventional notions of morality, religion, and law. While the work was animated by the Dada movement's rage against the European culture that had led to the carnage of World War I, Picabia's attacks often have the sprightly, coarse comedy of the court jester. They reflect an artist with no respect for any conventions, not even art, since art was just another facet of the wider culture he rejected.
Francis Picabia, Aello
Francis Picabia, 1927
Francis Picabia, Lydia, 1929
Francis Picabia, Couples Amoureux, 1922
Picabia, The Globe
Picabia, Madame X, 1927
Kurt Schwitters, 1887-1948, German artist, Schwitters was often known for his liveliness, uninhibited nature and wit – “with his incessant magical gesticulations, he seemed about to break free of the fetters of reason”, as historian of Dada, Hans Richter, observed – but some of his art, especially the Column, with its grottoes dedicated, among other things, to his dead child, hint at a darker side to his personality. No one could give Dada performances like him, though, whether he was barking wildly like a dog on stage or loudly declaiming his sound poems like Ursonate or more naturalistic poems like Anna Blume:
Kurt Schwitters, Glass Flower, 1940
Kurt Schwitters, Widewalls, 1931
Kurt Schwitters, Revolving, 1919
Kurt Schwitters, Revolving, 1919
Kurt Schwitters, Revolving, 1919
Sonya Delaunay, Market at Minho, 1915
Tristian Tzara, L'Antite, 1949
Juan Gris, The Bullfighter, 1912
Theo Von Doesburg, 1917
Theo Von Doesburg, Abstract Portrait, 1915
Marcel Duchamps, Nude descending, the Staircase, 1912
Picasso, Friendship, 1908
Giorgio de Chirico, Metaphysical interior, 1971
Kazmir Malevich, Reservist of the first Division, 1914
Salvador Dali, Big thumb, Beach, Moon, and Decaying Bird,1928
Kazmir Malevich , Woman with Rake, 1930
Piet Mondrian, 1872-1944, Dutch Artist, Mondrian's art was highly utopian and was concerned with a search for universal values and aesthetics. He proclaimed in 1914: "Art is higher than reality and has no direct relation to reality. To approach the spiritual in art, one will make as little use as possible of reality, because reality is opposed to the spiritual. We find ourselves in the presence of an abstract art. Art should be above reality, otherwise it would have no value for man."
Piet Mondrian, Still Life with a gingerpot, 1912
Piet Mondrian, Evening Tree, Red Tree, 1908
Mondrian, Dune Landscape,1909
Piet Mondrian, Grey Tree, 1912