Cubism and 20th-Century Art

3 units

This course examines the development of Cubism from its origins in 1906 to the decline of modernism after 1945. Cubism's pictorial language revolutionized the practice of art making in the early twentieth century, encouraging artists to interrogate the nature of signification (how form produces meaning). Topics to be considered include Cubism's innovations in painting, collage, papiers collés, and sculpture, as well as its formation and reception by writers, critics, and artists such as Braque, Picasso, Duchamp, Gris, Léger, Le Corbusier, Ozenfant, and the Salon Cubists. This class explores the various ways in which artistic production intersects with popular culture and the rise of consumerism, major events in world history, and changing notions of identity in the twentieth century. Readings are drawn from primary sources such as artists' manifestos, poetry, literature, and philosophy (which we will read in English translation). Visits to the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum and the St. Louis Art Museum complement our study. Prerequisite: Introduction to Western Art, L01 112, Introduction to Modern Art L01 211, or permission of the instructor.