Cubism and Its Global Legacies

3 units

During the early 20th century, Cubism marked a radical break in the European representation of three-dimensional space in painting through a bold reconsideration of atmospheric and linear perspective. Early Cubists such as Pablo Picasso achieved this formal breakthrough in part through studying African and Oceanic art. Between the summer of 1908 -- when Braque and Picasso developed the style collaboratively in France -- and the advent of WWI in the summer of 1914, Cubism became the most influential style in the international art world. This course examines the development of Cubism in France, and it analyzes how artists throughout Europe and the world adapted Cubism for their own purposes. Of particular interest will be how artists from outside Europe and the United States have responded to Cubism's appropriation of non-Western art. Class format is lecture and discussion. Prerequisites: L01 113, L01 215, or permission of instructor.