Georges Braque

George Brauqe was a French painter, printmaker, collagist, and sculptor. Born on May 13, 1882 in Argenteuil-sur-Seine, France, Braque studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Le Havre from 1897 to 1899. Shortly afterward he met Francis Picabia and other artists while painting at the Académie Humbert in Paris. Initially painting in an Impressionist style, by 1906 Braque had become more closely associated with Fauvism, as he was inspired by artists associated with the movement, including Henri Matisse and André Derain, whose work he had seen in Paris the previous year. Braque exhibited his first Fauvist works at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris in 1907. 

Braque’s major contribution to Modernist painting came in his development of Cubism, for which he collaborated closely with Pablo Picasso between 1908 and 1912 in the Montmarte neighborhood of Paris. The term "Cubism" is derived from a statement made by critic Louis Vauxcelles in 1908; Vauxcelles referred to a composition by Braque as “bizarre cubiques.” While the term is now most closely associated with Braque and Picasso, the artists themselves did not adopt the term until later on. The distinctive monochromatic, faceted style that the artists developed is now referred to as Analytical Cubism. 

Historian Ernst Gombrich has described Cubism as “the most radical attempt to stamp out ambiguity and to enforce the reading of the picture—that of a man-made construction, a colored canvas.” As such, it is difficult to distinguish between Braque and Picasso’s works from this early period. Picasso, however, became much more well-known in his lifetime, while Braque led a quieter life. 

Braque and Picasso’s collaboration came to an end in 1914, when Braque enlisted in the French Army to fight in World War I, where he was wounded. By 1917, he had recovered, and began painting again, developing a close friendship with artist Juan Gris. He continued working throughout World War II, producing primarily still lifes and interiors. He also started making lithographic prints, engravings, and sculptures, suited to his position that the experience of beauty was carried through volume, weight, line, mass, and subjective impression. Despite failing health, he continued to work into the last years of his life, including designing jewelry. He died in Paris on August 31, 1963.